Lovers At Sea
by lostinmyvampireworld
Summary: Human AU/ Caroline Forbes finds the normal married life boring. However she is betrothed to a man far away from home. Set on a ship she sails towards her future husband unwillingly. Niklaus Mikaelson is a Gentleman pursued by many women. With a dark secret he has eyes on a certain already-spoken-for lady. He will have her. After all, what a pirate wants is what a pirate shall have.
1. Chapter 1

**Enjoy ;) **

**Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries do not belong to me, sadly.**

**ALSO there is a huge possibility that this will be rated M for later chapters.**

* * *

Mystic Falls, 1700

Half a day's worth of travel southeast of London was a little village that held happy, healthy people. The Man that cared for them was true and honest, giving them all they needed. He lived near the shore that harbored his many ships. He sells these ships in return attaining food and wealth. Lord Forbes was a good man. His fortress stood tall, proud and beautiful. Neighboring it were a few high hills ideal for picnics and festivals. As of the moment two good friends occupied the highest.

"Caroline!" Her friend shrieked at her, "do you wish to blind me?!"  
Matthew looked at her incredulously. Caroline smiled at him charmingly.  
"You wouldn't be in this position had you been a lot stronger than I." she chimed.  
"Ah, you believe _I_ am the weakling here."  
"I'm afraid I do."

Matthew gave her a stern look, she was about to pop out his eye with the stick she held. It was actually very impressive the way she was winning the stick fight with little effort. She was a true fighter at heart. Matthew's expression softened a bit as his stern look turned into a mischievous smile. The young lady stopped giggling and eyed her childhood friend. She opened her mouth about to say something, when he caught her off guard, grabbed her stick and threw it to the side.

She gasped, looking at where it landed, near a flower. The two locked gazes, frozen.  
Very quickly, Caroline threw herself at the stick at the same time Matthew lunged for her. She grabbed it and playfully beat him with it.

"Caroline, you wench!"  
She gasped, "Matthew, I am a _lady_."  
"My buttocks you are."

The two laughed and fought like little children, rolling around in the dirt and beating each other with harmless sticks.

They heard a loud gasp by their side and turned to see who watched. It was Elena.

"You two!"

Caroline and Matthew gave each other guilty looks before rising up from the grass. Elena was furious her face turning pale at Caroline's disheveled look.

"Oh no! Lady Forbes will absolutely murder me!" The beautiful brunette cried out.

Both Caroline and Matthew doubted that. Elizabeth Forbes loved Elena as if she were her own child. Elena's mother was lady in waiting to Elizabeth. After her mother's death Elena and her brother were taken in welcomingly. This also caused her to be lady in waiting, chaperone and a dear friend to Caroline. The two were inseparable alongside Matthew. They were all well around the same age, but at the moment Elena took upon her role as if a grown up. She strode over to Caroline and dropped down to study her ruined dress. She grabbed the hem of the skirt. It was muddy and torn, permanently damaged.

"Caroline" Elena moaned, "This is fifth dress you have ruined this month. You only purchased it a fortnight ago!"

"I'm sorry." Caroline wailed, looking less like a lady and more like a child. Matthew snorted with laughter behind Elena, watching the two girls bicker. He loved them both as if they were his sisters. They all lived together in the same fortress for he was the son of the chef. He had the talents to become one when he grew, too.

Elena threw him a dirty look, "I know you had a part in this."  
Matthew's eyes widened, "_She's _the one who attacked me!"  
"Oh don't play innocent; I know you encouraged her!" Elena scoffed.

Matthew looked down, blushing. Elena straightened up, took out her handkerchief and wiped the mud off her fingers. She gave the two a disappointed look, but it didn't stay for long. She leaned into Caroline, whispering in her ear, "Did you win again?"  
"Like always." Caroline giggled.

The two girls laughed while Matthew stared daggers at them.

"Daughter."  
The three turned to find Lady Forbes. Lady Forbes was a beautiful woman it wasn't hard to realize where Caroline got her looks from. Both women turned heads wherever they went. Blonde curls, blue eyes and full pink lips, who could ever resist them? Not only did they attract men but women wanted to befriend them, talk to them. Whenever the two window-shopped the whole town watched, mesmerized by such beauty. It was agreed upon by the townspeople that the women of London had no chances of finding husbands while Caroline stood near them.

Elizabeth Forbes walked towards them. She had a warm smile that made her eyes twinkle. Caroline groaned. She really did not want her mother to see her and her fifth dress ruined. Elizabeth looked at the muddy skirt but her smile didn't waver, instead she laughed.

"Matthew did you win this time?"  
He gave the two girls an accusing look before looking down with a blush, "No M'lady." Elena burst into laughter.  
Elizabeth smiled widely before nodding, "Maybe next time."  
Matthew couldn't help but smile back.

"Mother, is there any reason you came calling?" Caroline said, she had a feeling she must speak up before her friends bowed down to her mother in awe.  
"Yes dear, your father requires you in his office."

Caroline froze. She knew this day would come. Her childhood had to end somehow. She gave a scared look at her friends before catching her mother's eyes. The twinkle was gone. She straightened her back, set her shoulders and began to walk to her mother. She was going to take it as a lady. She shall not yell at him, she shall not accuse him of ruining her life, she shall not allow him to make her cry, more importantly she_ shall _make him proud.

"Wait!" Elena screeched. Caroline gave her back to her mother as she looked worriedly at Elena. The brunette caught up with them. Her friend knew she was dreading this. With one look a million messages were sent between them. Elena smiled compassionately, taking Caroline's hand.

"I'll help you get into another dress."  
the three women looked down at the damage.  
"You can't possibly go to him like that." Elena continued with a weak voice.  
Caroline could only nod.

* * *

She was dressed in lavender, a color that wasn't too childish and wasn't too daring. A good message to send to her father that she was ready to take up responsibility and that she will not rebel. Her corset had lace and a few blue flowers as embroidery. The sleeves were long, once reaching her elbows they opened up flowing her to wrist. She liked them that way, they were less constricting. She glanced at the looking glass before her. Her heart beat rang through her ears. She tried to calm down. Breathe in, breathe out. She concentrated on Elena instead, who was braiding her long wavy hair into a quick up do. The whole process was only taking a few minutes but to her they felt like hours. Her eyes took a far off gaze, not noticing Elena's lips move in the reflection. After a while She noticed Elena's arms as she waved about, trying to catch her attention.

"Oh." Caroline stood up straight with wide eyes. She rotated to face her friend. Elena was done with her hair.

"Caroline, you mustn't daydream while your with Lord Forbes."  
"I won't." Caroline said with a roll of her eyes.  
"You should also know that this isn't the end of the world. Many women would love to be in your position."  
"I am aware."  
"Matthew and I wish you the best of luck, and Caroline you should be _thankful."_

"Elena! Enough please!" Caroline cried out, she hid her face into her hands; her breathing was starting to become short and shallow. Elena stared at her friend, surprised. They both remained like this for a while until Caroline looked up meeting her friend's worried gaze. Elena laid a hand on her shoulder, reassuring her, "It's going to be all right."

Caroline didn't answer. She just stood up, hugged her friend tightly then walked out the room leaving Elena to wonder whether or not she went too far.

* * *

"Nik!"

Klaus turned to his sister with a start. He had been gazing at the sea, watching the blue water sparkle, reflecting the sun's light. They were very close to reaching the land before them. He had missed England, but not so much that it would send him coming back this early. It was his sister that insisted, for trivial reasons if he might add.

"What, Bekah?" he said exasperatedly, he turned his back against the ship's rail, leaning against it with his head tilted up at the sky. His sister gave him a dirty look.  
"Nik look at me!"  
Klaus snapped his head at her in annoyance. "What?!"

"We are going." She said for the nth time. She crossed her arms, and leaned her weight on one leg.  
"Bekah…"  
"I am not asking."

That caused them to lock eyes, each trying to beat the other with the intensity of their gaze. Niklaus looked away first making Rebekah smile. She walked away smugly. Not only did he agree on returning back to England but he had just reluctantly affirmed he would show up at the ball. He found balls tiring to say the least. The same thing occurred each time he attended one. During the welcoming ceremony, the mention of the Mikaelsons always caught everyone's attention making them stare at the five of them. He didn't like unwanted attention, especially from hundreds of guests. The other thing that annoyed him to the core was the women. Not the beautiful ones with much experience or the quiet ones with quick heated gazes, mind you. He loved _them_. It was the Loud, high pitched, eligible girls that infuriated him. Them and their needy mothers! He banged his fist on the rail, recalling old mothers promoting their daughters to him, chasing him wherever he went. He remembered one white haired lady entering the men's room for him, and only him. The embarrassment could not be overstated as he watched the woman break out into conversation about how wonderful her daughter was while the other gentlemen watched.

"Thinking about tonight, brother?"  
Klaus sighed, "Dreading it, actually."  
Elijah laughed, "I don't see why. You are always the highlight of many women's evenings. Surely that peeks your interest."  
Klaus stared daggers at him. "You know very well they aren't my type."  
Klaus might have done ungentlemanly things but deflowering a virgin was something he'd rather avoid.  
"I am not suggesting you ruin one of the ladies, I am merely telling you to play along with them." Elijah replied innocently. Klaus knew better than to believe his brother was serious. They knew each other more than anyone else. Ignoring the last comment Klaus broke into a wide smirk and patted his brother's shoulder roughly.

"Is that what you do with your women?"

Elijah's playful smile disappeared. Not only did Klaus have the issue with women following him everywhere he went but so did Elijah. In fact all the Mikaelsons had crazed admirers.

"NIK!"

Both brothers turned to find Kol running towards them. He stopped, with one hand grabbing the railing for support while the other went to his chest trying to steady his breathing. Elijah and Klaus raised their eyebrows, amused with their usually down toned, cocky brother.

"Please tell me you didn't agree to Rebekah's request!" Kol said with a pained expression.  
"As a matter of fact I did." Klaus replied.  
"No, no, no, no, _no_."

Kol curled up on the floor with his hands on his face. Elijah chuckled before asking, "The women?"  
"No! I don't mind them it's the mothers!" Kol looked up. Klaus was surprised he didn't throw himself over the rail into the sea.  
"We will all suffer at Rebekah's expense. Let us try to enjoy the ball at the very least." Elijah calmed them down.  
"The only one who would be enjoying this apart from her would be Finn." Kol spat out.  
Everyone nodded in agreement. It was funny how a group of women and their chaperones could scare a bunch of strong men.

* * *

Caroline Knocked on her father's office door.

"Come in." she heard his faint voice.  
She timidly walked into the room with her head up high and her back straight. She wanted to look sophisticated and elegant. Ever since she was a child she had always wanted to please her father, afraid of rejection. Her father barely looked up to acknowledge her presence. He kept his eyes on the paper work before him. His feather pen working away at the parchment. She stood awkwardly before him for 5 minutes without saying a word. She was measuring up how bad the situation would end up being if she went up to him, grabbed the papers, and threw it into the fireplace, when he looked up at her with a smile. It didn't reach his eyes.  
"Sit down, child."  
She obeyed.  
"You are now 18 and of age."  
Caroline grabbed the arms of her chair. She hated this. Elena's words rang through her head, reminding her that many women would be lucky to have this opportunity, but she couldn't help but wonder why. She would gladly switch positions with any one of those so called ladies. Then a sudden thought appeared in her head. She remembered Elena in a distant memory, they were having a picnic on one of the hills.

"_I wish to rule the world." Caroline said.  
Elena laughed at her friend. They were playing one of their games. She turned sober when it was her turn.  
"I wish to be married and with child."_

Elena herself wanted to be in this position. Caroline felt heartache for her friend. It would be hard for Elena to find a husband; she had no dowry as her parents were poor when they died. And a poor, orphan wife was very undesirable now matter how beautiful she was.

"Caroline! Are you paying attention?"  
She looked up at her father with a start. Oh dear, she thought to herself. Elena wouldn't be happy with her.  
"Sorry, father. Would you so kindly as to repeat?"  
Her father looked at her sternly.  
"I was implying you pack your belongings for London tonight."  
"Tonight?!"  
He gave her another stern look at her outburst before continuing, "There is a ball tomorrow evening that I'd like you to attend."  
"A ball." She whispered.  
"Lady Lockwood is holding it in favor of all the maidens who wish to find a bachelor to marry, that includes you if you aren't already aware. It is a great honor, Caroline. All her balls were successes. Many women have found their husbands there. It is necessary that you find one too."  
And just like that the meeting was over. Caroline sighed as she left his office. At that moment, she wouldn't mind switching places with Elena.

* * *

"Halt!"

Caroline woke up with a start. She looked around her frantically, relaxing once she found Elena and her mother, both sleeping safe and sound. They were in a carriage heading towards London. Her ears caught the faint sound of bustling traffic. Excited, she stuck her head out the window to look at the sight. They were in London! They arrived. Caroline grinned widely as she let the wind caress her hair. Looking around she found dozens of shops and probably hundreds of people, shopping, laughing, dining, and chatting. It was a feast to the eyes. A few gentlemen stopped as her carriage rode by them, they stared at Caroline with wonder, but she didn't notice them. She was too busy taking in the beauty if the city before her, drinking it in till she was laughing giddily. She loved it here.

A little child caught her eye.  
"Mommy, look! A princess!" The little girl cried out, pulling at her mother's long sleeves. Caroline grinned and waved at the little girl. The mother looked up, but Caroline didn't get the chance to see her expression for something else caught her eye and made her stare.

The mansion was _huge._ A prince could live there. The gardens that surrounded it were beautiful and equally stunning. So many flowers, and trees and bushes and birds. The scent of roses hit her then, making her feel lightheaded. She couldn't wait to run along the fields, twirling and jumping to her heart's content.

"Caroline!"  
Someone grabbed her skirt and pulled her back into the carriage. Caroline looked around wild eyed. Her mother and Elena stared at her, shocked.

"What on earth are you doing? Trying to take your own life? You could have fallen out!"  
Caroline rolled her eyes, "Mother I'm not a child any longer."  
"Well then act like an adult, for here comes Lady Lockwood's welcoming committee. You must remember, Caroline that Lady Forbes has graciously accepted us to spend the night in her guest chambers." Caroline looked out the window, without extending her head.  
_Oh my_… she began to feel nervous; half a dozen carriages were before the entrance to the mansion. Each held a lady and her chaperones. Caroline watched as a beautiful young woman with fiery red hair emerged from her carriage. One of the man servants dressed in a tux held out his hand for her. Her dress was a beautiful emerald that made her hair blaze. How on earth was she going to compete with all these beautiful women?!  
"Mother why are the guests so early! It is only morn and the ball is tonight!" Caroline asked her mother in panic.  
"Well, you didn't think you were the only one who travelled from afar to attend it, did you? These girls are also going to get ready and spend the night here. I believe that one is Spanish." Elizabeth said nodding her head at the red haired girl.  
Caroline went back to staring at the carriages. There were probably 30 of them! 30 girls, all eligible and competitive under one roof for the night? There could be murders! However, Elena and her mother had no doubt in their hearts that Caroline could beat them all. If only she would keep her energetic, wild self in check. Elena smiled at her friend; she knew she would do well.

When her turn came, Caroline took a deep breath and held the man servants hands. She caught his eyes widening. She wondered why, she wasn't exactly at her best looks. She had been in a carriage on the road for half a day and more. She was absolutely disheveled and her hair was in a mess from the wind. She looked back at the trail of carriages that waited their turn. Girls had their heads out the window staring at Caroline. Many had the look of a bear ready to attack. Caroline gulped, walking into the mansion with Elena and her mother trailing along.

"Are they here? Have they arrived?" she heard a woman's voice echo through the hall. She looked up to find a great big glittering chandelier; the ceiling was so high up that Caroline felt dizzy staring at it. It was covered in paintings after paintings.

"Lady Forbes!"  
Caroline's head snapped at the woman at the top of the huge stair ways. There were two of them one trailing along the left wall, the other to the right. A beautiful woman with a kind face stood atop the left. She floated down the flight of steps until she stopped before Caroline's mother.

"Oh I am so glad you made it, Elizabeth. Tell me how is darling Bill?"  
Lady Forbes was about to answer when the woman turned to Caroline. Caroline raised her eyebrows at the sudden attention, freezing at her spot. The woman's eyes practically bulged as she took her into her arms and gave her a tight hug.

"Oh you are absolutely gorgeous!"  
Caroline choked.

"Oh silly me almost forgot, I am Lady Lockwood, but you could call me Carol." She winked at the uncomfortable Caroline. She began pulling her up the stairs and into a big corridor with many doors to the left and the right. Some doors were opened to reveal girls her age. Many were still in their chemises while others had curling tools driven into their hairs, but one thing remained the same with all of them. They all stared at her. Caroline wanted to give them all dirty looks, but she knew better. So she remained quiet while she followed Lady Lockwood, her wrist in the woman's hand.

They stopped before a room. The crazed woman opened the door and beckoned the three women into it.

Caroline's breathing hitched. The room was beautiful; the closet in particular was huge! She didn't know if she deserved something as grand as this, but she gladly accepted it.

Lady Lockwood closed the door as she entered the chamber with them.  
"I apologize if it isn't large enough. I'm afraid this will have to do."  
The three women stared.

"Well I will leave you ladies to get ready for the ball. There is still plenty of time! 4 more hours I believe."

Caroline nodded, feeling nauseous. Once the woman left, she turned to her mother with the same panicked expression she had before. Elizabeth smiled, walking towards her daughter and taking her face into her warm hands.  
"Don't worry, dear. Just be yourself and you will do wonderfully."  
Caroline tried to smile, but the attempt completely disappeared once she heard screaming outside.

Elena beat Caroline to the door opening it wide enough so that they could see many girls looking half ready. Caroline jumped trying to see over the many colorful heads. What on _earth_ was everyone crazy about?

"The Mikaelsons!"  
"They're here!"  
"Oh god, I think I can see Lord Kol's head."  
"I am going to try and get him alone!"  
"Shh quiet!"  
"They're conversing."

Everyone suddenly went very still, none saying a single word. Elena, Caroline and Lady Forbes looked at one another with surprise.

"Who are the Mikaelsons?" Caroline dared to ask over the hushed silence. She was quickly met by angry faces. All the girls turned to her with fingers at their lips. "Shhh." They said in unison.  
Caroline was about say unladylike retorts to one of the girls at her side, who accidently spat at her whilst shushing her when she heard,

"Thank you Lady Lockwood for welcoming us to your lovely home." A musical voice echoed. It belonged to a girl. Caroline imagined the voice to come out of a stunning young woman. Whoever it was, she was talking to Lady Lockwood in the hall.  
"It is truly a pleasure." A male voice said with an equally charming voice.

The girls back in the corridor all swooned. "Finn." One of them said dreamily.

"The pleasure is all mine, dears!" Lady Lockwood squealed, "The men's guest room happens to be in the other wing, I shall bring one of my servants to direct you four gentlemen there. Rebekah, allow me to personally show you to the Women's."  
"Oh carol, I remember it very well from the last time I visited, thank you, love."  
Lady Lockwood giggled at the endearment.

Suddenly all the girls around Caroline started to move around frantically.  
"She's coming!" a pale girl screamed, she was obviously in tears. Caroline and Elena laughed at her, before Lady Forbes grabbed them, lead them back to the room and quickly shut the door at the fiasco outside.

"Mother do you know who they speak of?"  
Lady Forbes nodded vigorously, still looking at the door nervously.

"Well?" Caroline asked again, "Who are they and why is everyone so smitten with them?" she rarely saw her mother this nervous, so whatever made her like this was obviously something big.  
"Mother?" Caroline asked when her mother didn't answer.  
"SShhh" she mimicked the girls in the corridor. Elena and Caroline gave each other bewildered looks. Elizabeth Forbes walked over to the door and peaked out, Caroline and Elena followed suit. The corridor was completely empty now; all the girls were peeking over each other's heads through doorways.

"Your room is this way." They all heard Carol Lockwood say.  
"Thank you." Said the girl. She then came into vision.

Everyone giggled.

"Rebekah!"  
"Hello, Rebekah, dear!"  
"Do you remember me?"  
"You promised you would introduce me to Elijah."

Rebekah kept her head high, her hair was golden, her dress a beautiful red (a color than no maiden dared to wear.) and her skin a tad sun kissed, a characteristic unheard of among the pale Englanders. Her lips were as red as blood. She was magnificent, Caroline thought to herself. Rebekah greeted the other girls with a nod and a smile, keeping herself poised. When she reached Caroline she broke out into a wide smile. Caroline couldn't smile back. She was too busy staring.

Rebekah looked upon the beautiful blonde before her; she was the only maiden who wasn't hyperventilating around her. It pleased her. She gave her a nod, before continuing her way to her room.

Caroline sighed with a roll of her eyes. Crazy girls, mysterious women, tight dresses that made Caroline ache. This ball was going to be the death of her. She closed the door, leaving the other girls panting and giggling. What arse kissers, she thought very unlady-like.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**This is my first Human AU, so I hope I didn't disappoint. Also keep in mind I am not an expert in history, so if there are any mistakes about the timeline, I apologize :) Klaroline will happen next chapter!**

**Reviews make my day!  
Follow me on Tumblr if you'd like: lostinmyvampireworld  
I follow back :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:**

**Wow! I didn't expect this much response to Lovers at Sea! I am humbled, truly. A million thanks to all the people that reviewed, followed and favorite-ed! Also thank you to those who gave organization tips ;) you guys made me fangirl last night my parents at some point thought I was crazy.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned The Vampire Diaries, but sadly I don't.**

* * *

London, 1700

"OUCH, ELENA."

"I'm sorry! I'm just nervous!"

"You're nervous? It is I who will be searching for a husband amidst this armpit of a ball, not you!"

Elena glared at Caroline for her use of language. Caroline stuck out her tongue. They both sat at the vanity, Caroline grabbing on to her chair's arms for dear life while Elena stood behind her, working away at her blonde hair. At that moment the door to their room opened. Screams could be heard in the corridor. Caroline and Elena froze listening to the chaos outside.

"My dress, you ruined it you vile girl!"

"You absolute _wench._"

"My hair is falling apart!"

"I shall never find love!"

Caroline paled; this was proving to be a disaster. In walked Elizabeth Forbes, looking pale as well.

"It's a jungle out there." The mother gasped out, "A girl stepped on my hair tripping me. Then she had the nerve to blame me for her loveless life." She spoke quickly, clearly agitated.

Caroline looked down at her mother's beautiful, long, blond hair. It trailed to the floor, free. Caroline wished she could do the same with her hair, letting it fall to her lower back, instead of having to put it up into a ridiculous up do.

As if to prove her point, Elena pulled at it, making Caroline grab on to her chair tighter. Once her hair was up, Caroline rose to her feet to assess her gown.

Elizabeth gasped at the sight of her daughter. She wore a mint green, silk skirt that flowed gracefully to the floor, it was perked to look huge, just like a how a princess would wear her own gown. Her corset was a mint green, but was decorated with a beige cloth that covered the front. It was covered in little pink flowers that were smaller than Caroline's nails. They were dazzling. Lady Forbes met her daughter's gaze. Her attire made her blue eyes pop, granting anyone that looked at her directly to feel mesmerized.

She was going to do wonderfully.

"Mother, you're eyes. It looks like you're about to cry." Caroline murmured softly.

"That's because I am close to it." Her Elizabeth said, sniffing.

Caroline went up to her mother and held her at arm's length, "Did that girl pull at your hair too tightly?" she asked.

The woman laughed, "No, it's not…" then paused, "Well, yes actually."

Caroline grinned.

"But that's not why I'm feeling emotional. Oh, Caroline look at you! You practically radiate!" Caroline regarded her mother lovingly, she felt differently; for at that moment she felt like her mother radiated with beauty and not her. The two embraced as Elena watched with tears in her eyes. Not standing it any longer she ran up to them. They gladly let her join.

"You BITCH!"

The three jumped up in shock at the scream outside, then broke out into laughter.

* * *

"You can have me!" The girl screamed before she was forcefully taken away by her chaperone.

Kol waved thankfully at the mother, with a charming cool smile, like the whole situation didn't scare him to the core. A minute ago he was struggling with the girl who managed to sneak into the men's guest room corridor. Once he made sure they were out of sight, his cool expression turned into that of fear. He closed the door behind him and turned to Finn and Elijah who sat on his bed. Both men looked down at their feet, already dressed up. Rebekah forced them all to wear traditional coats. Unfortunately for them they itched terribly. Finn scratched at his neck; he was wearing a dark green one. Elijah wore brown, while Kol wore green. Even though the attire would look comical on average men, the Mikaelsons could not have been more handsome. The two elder brothers have decided to take Kol's chamber as haven, hiding from their admirers. It was the farthest room in the corridor, only daring women could reach it. A knock sounded at the door making Kol twitch.

"I have had enough of you crazed girls!" He said marching to the door, opening it widely. Klaus stood wearing a Blue coat that brought out his eyes.

"Tell me whom did the girl belong to?" Klaus asked smirking. He enjoyed his brothers' agony very much. If he had to endure the torture so did the rest of them.

Kol raised a hand up while his other scratched at his chin. "This is insane." He muttered with a slightly high pitched voice, walking away to the powder room. Klaus chuckled then turned to Elijah and Finn who were sulking.

"Oh cheer up, gentlemen!" he chimed, "A ball awaits us!"

* * *

Caroline's nerves were killing her. She had just paid her farewells to Elena, who remained in the chamber, eating away at her nails in nerves. Lady Forbes and Caroline now stood in line to wait for Lady Lockwood's butler to present them to the crowd. Caroline craned her head to look at the guests. She couldn't see the ballroom; all she saw was the large hairdo that the girl before her claimed. Caroline gave an odd look at the head of hair. It probably reached 3 feet high. Who would ever want to wear such a thing?

"Lady Annabelle and her chaperone Lady Adams." She heard the man say. His voice was very loud to Caroline's dismay. She had hoped he had a soft voice so that the crowd wouldn't notice her arrival.

"Lady Rosemarie and her chaperone Lord John."

To her great relief the two in front of her stepped forward and descended the flight of stairs. Caroline's relief drained away as she caught sight of the ballroom. It was so brightly lit up, radiated so many different colors and held so many colorful people that Caroline felt her nerves heighten. The place was gorgeous. She feared she would get _lost_. She never attended a ball before, what on earth was she to do for the hours to come? More importantly how on earth was she going to attract suitors?

"Lady Caroline and her chaperone Lady Forbes."

Caroline didn't hear the man very well; her heartbeat was ringing so loudly in her ear that her mother had to pull at her so that she would move. The two women, both in beautiful gowns descended the stairs. Heads turned, conversations ceased, and the men stared. The adrenaline rushed through Caroline making her feel lightheaded. She didn't understand why her legs didn't fail her. They, thankfully, managed to stay strong until she reached the last few steps.

Lady Forbes turned to face her daughter, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Good luck." She whispered before leaving her daughter to fend for herself. Caroline wished her mother didn't leave her, but she knew that gentlemen wouldn't walk up to a maiden while her mother stood by her. Sighing heavily she decided to focus on the music. The violins pleased her ears, making her watch the players with approval. The melody was so enchanting that the man had to tap her shoulder a couple of times to get her attention.

"Oh." She said, concentrating on him. He had good looks, but didn't take her breath away.

"May I have this dance?" he asked her lending out his hand for her to take.  
Caroline gladly took it. After all he might be the only man kind enough to acknowledge her tonight.

Making their way into the crowd the volume of the music increased to a level that she couldn't hear the man calling out the names of the girls arriving. She allowed the bachelor to place his hand on her waist, as she took his other hand. Together they waltzed with the surrounding couples. She didn't focus on her partner so much as she was looking around her. She was so busy studying everything that she didn't hear the butler introduce the Mikaelsons.

Although she missed his call, it was obvious she didn't need it. The entire ballroom went silent as they looked up at the five. Rebekah descended the flight of stairs first, with Finn at her arm. Caroline found Finn to be as handsome as Rebekah was beautiful. She waved at the silenced and mesmerized crowd. Following them was Kol. He grinned from ear to ear, waving as Rebekah had done.

Caroline found a group of girls swooning at the gesture. She rolled her eyes before looking back at the next Mikaelson: Elijah. Caroline decided right then and there that she liked him. He looked noble and kind as he gave a nod of his head to the crowd. He seemed older than the three that had gone before him. Maybe it was age that made them seem wise but for some reason Caroline found them all to look older than they seemed. Not in terms of looks, but in terms of spirit and the way they held themselves. They seemed experienced. She was wondering to herself what they did as a lifestyle when the man called out,

"Niklaus Mikaelson."

Caroline heard gasps, squealing as well as giggling at the mention of the name. Her brows joined together in curiosity as she looked up at the man wondering why he attracted so much attention. She didn't get the chance to focus on his appearance, however, for the same woman with the same blasted three-foot-tall hairdo stepped before her, blocking her view.

Caroline rolled her eyes in frustration, raising her arms into the air. "Really?" she whispered.

"Really what?" Her partner asked.

Caroline stared at him surprised, she forgot she even had a dance partner, "Never you mind." she said kindly. She searched for the man, Niklaus, but to no avail. She didn't remember how he looked like, so even if she spotted him she would not recognize him. Her dance partner took her hand, kissed it, and then walked away. Caroline brushed away a strand of hair from her face. Glad that was over, she pondered to herself.

"Lady Forbes." Said a low gruff voice behind her. Caroline turned to find another gentleman awaiting the chance to dance with her.

After five dances with five different men, Caroline had had enough of it. She apologized to the sixth man that had asked for a dance.

"I must see to a matter." She said apologetically before walking off the dance floor. She had to find Niklaus. Whenever Caroline sets her mind to a business she would go to the ends of the world to see it done. She searched and searched but couldn't find any of the Mikaelsons. Giggling caught her attention at the far off side of the ball room. Caroline traced the sound to where it led to a crowd of young women. They were huddled around something in particular. Probably the Mikaelsons. It was hard for Caroline not to associate giggling with the Mikaelson men, after all that has been happening.

Stretching her neck, even jumping a little, she tried to find the center of the crowd. Luckily one of the women stepped to the side, revealing a dirty blonde man. He was well built, tall and very much handsome. Caroline's brows rose. _Well isn't he a good looking lad_, she thought. He was smiling at one of his admirers, probably being polite. Next to him stood Elijah, who was also conversing with one of his fans. Caroline cocked her head to the side as she imagined them as famous chefs. No they were probably land owners. Or merchants who travelled quiet a lot, which would explain the sun kissed complexion. Or maybe they were like her father, working by the harbor, selling ships and its goods.

Suddenly, as if noticing her stare, Klaus caught her gazing at him. Caroline tensed, jumping into the air at the sudden eye contact. He caught her staring at him. Oh no, he probably thought she was one of those crazy women. She looked around frantically, feeling quite self conscious, when a waiter walked by her.

"Excuse me." she said stopping him. She grabbed one of the drinks the garcon held on a tray and gulped at it, determined to prove to Klaus she didn't give a care for him. She looked up at a painting and pretended to admire it with much interest.

A horrible taste flooded her mouth making her spit the entire gulp out. A couple of people stopped to give her an odd look. She grimaced unattractively at the liquid in her hands. It was yellow and had the taste of grass. Caroline would know, since she liked to play on the hills quite often. The taste reminded her of when Matthew had once grabbed her head and shoved her into the ground, causing her to taste grass and mud. What force compelled mankind to make such a horrible drink?!

She disposed of the goblet, and wiped her hand at her lips, trying as much as possible to make the taste disappear. She looked up to find Klaus laughing. Caroline felt anger seep through her. He was laughing at _her_. What a vile man! Caroline thought fiercely. Who would ever want to marry you? Despite herself, she gave him a dirty look before walking away leaving the Mikaelson thoroughly amused.

He watched her proceed to a cake stand. What a charming young lady, he thought. He found her very entertaining to watch. Unlike the other, shy, insecure girls, she stood tall and strong. She also seemed to have lost interest in him rather quickly than most woman would have, even the ones who never knew of his charms. It made him curious about her. He cocked his head to the side, regarding her as she looked at the delicacies with a hungry eye. She turned left then right before grabbing two large, full muffins. She stuffed one into her mouth, taking a large bite. Niklaus found himself entranced with the girl, and her full lips when a girl stepped into his vision, blocking his view.

"Don't you think?"

Klaus looked at the brunette before him, "Pardon?" he said, hiding his annoyance.

"Don't you think the weather is fascinating today?" She asked again.

Klaus nodded, before looking back at the ball room. He easily got frustrated with these petty woman and their small talks. Suddenly, he received an idea.

"Love would you mind helping me with a matter?" he asked the girl, giving her a charming smile so that she wouldn't dare refuse. She gasped and nodded vigorously.

"Excellent." He said, before pulling her next to him. He pointed at the blonde beauty. "Do you know who stands by the deserts?"

The brunette took a bit more time than necessary to answer, probably due to the fact that she couldn't believe she was touching him.

"That is Lady Forbes, My Lord. She doesn't live here. She lives by the shore, Mystic Falls I presume. Odd place, if you asked me."

Klaus gave her his thanks quickly before she launched into a story about landmarks. He left his crowd and walked towards the cake stand, where Caroline was enjoying her fourth helping of muffins. With a full mouth she turned her head to find Niklaus walking towards her. She couldn't swallow. Is he walking towards her? Caroline looked at the cakes with a full face then back at the man, he was proceeding towards her direction with determination. Oh buttocks, he _was_! With no idea as to why she didn't allow the curious man to ask her for a dance, she grabbed a random gentleman at her side.

"Care for a dance?" she said with a little bit too much enthusiasm.

"Only, I have been waiting for it the whole night." the man accepted, with a smile. Caroline studied the man, he was the sixth bachelor!

"Convenient!" Caroline answered, allowing him to lead her towards the dance floor. They passed the amused looking Niklaus on their way to the waltz. The two locked eyes, before Caroline turned her head away, raising her chin up.

Klaus wanted to laugh. She looked so pleased with herself, it was endearing. She was the first girl he had wanted to dance with tonight. All the others bored him.

Caroline fixed her gaze on her partner, as they waltzed. She tried very hard not to search for Niklaus Mikaelson. He truly intrigued her, for some strange reason Caroline felt like he was dangerous. She looked back at the crowd of women. She could see Elijah and Kol however there was no sign of the man she had been running from. She regarded the women. Then back to the Mikaelsons. Were they dangerous? Caroline's instincts never failed her. What if she was right? All these crazed admirers are probably, as of the moment, interacting with murderers, or thieves, or…

What on_ earth_.

Caroline's eyes snapped back to her partner. His hand was roaming down her back, to places a gentleman's hand should never touch. He gave her a grin, thinking that she enjoyed the intimacy. Caroline felt her cool composure slip away as she pushed the man from her. Their stopping and standing still caused the easy flow of the rest of the dancers to be disordered. People gave them queer looks as the waltzed by. Caroline stared daggers at the man.

"I apologize, I see I shouldn't have attempted that." the man said, he tried to pull Caroline back into his arms, but she slapped his hand away. The man's face turned furious.

"Listen here, girl, I don't know who you think you are, but surely you don't know who I am, as you are clearly acting like a-"

She punched him across his face.

The man staggered a few feet. Caroline felt everything happen very slowly. _Please don't_. He staggered even farther away. _Oh god, please don't let this be happening. _With a loud splash the man fell into a large lemonade bowl. Caroline's eyes widened. Oh no, what has she done? She ran up to the man, grabbed his hand to try and help him, but he pushed her away with a scared cry.

"You are no lady!" he screamed aloud. The violins stopped playing, the dancers stopped dancing, all the guests watched Caroline's horror unleash. "You are a child!" people around her gasped. Caroline just stood there. The man tried to get out of the bowl, his attire completely soaked. Two man servants came to his help, but he pushed them away, pointing at Caroline rudely.

"You are a she wolf! No man would ever want to marry you, I assure you this! A crazed, raging girl you are!" he spat at her. A woman with graying hair stepped towards him, helping him out of the bowl.

"Tom, darling boy, this isn't the place to be taming the shrew."

"The_ shrew_?!" Caroline cried out, appalled by the woman's rudeness. People around her started to murmur in disapproval. No lady is ever called a shrew in public.

"A rude, raging, selfish shrew." The woman affirmed, she was obviously the man's mother or she wouldn't be in his favor.

Caroline felt bile rise in her throat. She knew the ball would be the death of her, but she didn't take it seriously to heart. She was half right. The ball was the ruin of her. What man would ever want to call her after this? Everyone would be scared of her and her outburst. Her heart sank. How was she ever going to explain this to father? How on earth was she going to explain this to anyone?! Her mother must be watching. Caroline felt tears in her eyes, she didn't want to look around for her, afraid she'd see disappointment. She felt her legs go weak as she fell to the ground. A hand reached out for her, while a strong arm went around her waist, steadying her so that she wouldn't fall. Caroline forced herself to look up at her savior.

It was Niklaus Mikaelson. His laughing demeanor completely disappeared as he held Caroline with concern. He had seen similar situations happen, before, but never did he care this much. The poor girl must be in despair. To his surprise she brought a strong hand upon his. She squeezed, as if sending him her gratitude for his help. She wasn't able to speak at the moment.

Caroline looked away from the Mikaelson gentleman to fix her gaze back at the bowl. It was not the time for her to feel weary of the man. In fact, Caroline found herself to have been silly a moment ago: thinking a man to be dangerous enough to run away from, thinking the whole Mikaelson family was up to something. What a petty girl, she thought to herself. She straightened herself, lifted up her chin and walked away from the crowd as if nothing had occurred. The only way the scene affected her was shown through her eyes, fixed before her, filled with tears. She really did not care about Niklaus at the moment; she didn't care about anything, except for how disappointed her father would be with her, after the news spreads. Another pair of arms appeared, steadying Caroline, taking her somewhere. She didn't care to look up and see who it was; she just let them lead her away from the whole thing. After a few minutes, she found herself back in the chamber, with her mother and Elena. Not wasting time at all, she grabbed on to one of the women, clutched at them with all her might as she let the painful tears flow freely. What a mess, she was.

* * *

Klaus Mikaelson stared after the girl. The violins returned to their melody while the crowd erupted into conversations once more. He faintly heard the name Forbes uttered about a dozen times. He felt sorry for the girl, but at the same time felt like she didn't need it. She was strong and was able to pull herself together long enough to leave the scene. Had it been any other lady, she would have spread herself across the floor and made a bigger deal out of it all. Klaus felt… admiration.

"Poor girl." A young woman whispered by his side. His sister had been watching as well. Hell, Klaus was sure the whole ballroom had been watching, all 600 or more guests.

"It is a shame really; she would have been a great wife to any man."

"Oh come on, Nik. You don't expect a girl to have lost all her suitors because of a mere spat!"

"Why not? I have seen worst happen to those who have done far less."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. She hated how society viewed women. Like horses in need of training.

"Do you suppose she will be alright?" said a man's voice on Klaus's other side. Finn.

"I truly hope so, she was the only girl who didn't try suffocating me." said another. Kol, of course.

"Rebekah I must excuse myself, the ball's festive energy completely departed me." Elijah said behind the four siblings.

They all nodded in agreement, all still staring after where the girl last disappeared.

"How about we call it a night?" Rebekah asked.

"Absolutely."  
"Yes."  
"Perfect."  
"Sounds good to me."

* * *

Caroline woke up feeling numb. The only reason she was able to sleep last night was because she had cried herself to complete exhaustion. Elena and her mother packed all their belongings quietly. No one spoke of last night's problems and Caroline preferred it that way.

"I am sorry about last night. It was my fault I invited that awful boy Tom Gerard and his annoying mother. Never had hopes for him! Knew all along how wife-less he was set out to become." Lady Lockwood's voice boomed throughout the hall.

Caroline kept her gaze down. Holding on to one of her packages. A few other girls stood from afar. She watched them as they conversed with their suitors. A girl giggled loudly as one of the men kissed her hands. Caroline felt a pang of something. Jealousy? Envy? No, it was probably just exhaustion. She didn't want to be a wife. She only agreed to the darn thing to please her father and to make her mother proud. Now, the only man she'll ever be able to marry would be a garbage man. Her eyes roamed around the hall, watching people until she met Nicklaus's gaze. She gave him a smile, as a thank you for last night's help. The sides of his lips turned up as he gave her a nod, before turning away to meet his sister's demands. After a while Caroline watched the Mikaelsons as they departed the mansion. Caroline couldn't wait to do the same.

* * *

"Absolute rubbish!" Bill Forbes cried out. He banged his fist against his desk making both women jump. "How could you let her do this, Elizabeth?" He spat.

Caroline sat at his desk, shaking. She put on a fierce expression as she forced the urge to let her tears go. She wouldn't look at her father.

"Bill, she had no choice! The man was touching her inappropriately."

"I don't care for it at all! She should have reacted in a much more civilized manner!" He screamed back.

A vein twitched at his neck as his eyes bulged. Caroline was surprised her mother wasn't cowering in fear. Then again she probably experienced the same rage a thousand times before. He stood up making both Caroline and her mother freeze. He never laid a hand on any of them, but at that moment Caroline felt he would. She doubted he was feigning the murderous gaze he gave them. Caroline winced waiting for him to explode when a knock sounded at the door.

"My Lord." Said a female servant timidly; it was rare when Bill Forbes got angry.

"What!" he bellowed.

With a shaking hand the girl held out envelopes. Caroline tried to count them, there were about fifteen of them. Bill stared at the papers as if they were baby dragons.

Elizabeth placed her hands on her lips as she regarded the letters with hope. They could be letters from suitors, asking to court her. Caroline's eyes widened. How could that be? After all that she'd done?! Caroline pondered. Maybe her actions spoke differently to some gentlemen. Maybe standing up for herself, speaking loudly and staying strong pleased some bachelors, bachelors who probably searched for strong women as wives rather than timid little girls.

Caroline stood up straight as she watched her father tear open an envelope in frustration then reading it to himself. His furious expression disappeared, and with that Elizabeth jumped in happiness, laughing giddily.

Caroline had suitors.

Her chances were still bright.

"_Fifteen_? On her first day?" Bill Forbes asked, for a man who should be proud he looked like he had a sour taste in his mouth. "That's practically unheard of." He turned to look at Caroline as if accusing her of doing well.

He stomped back to his desk, sitting down at his arm chair.

"I have half a mind to pick one man randomly and betroth you to him, before you end up murdering someone next." He said quietly.

Caroline cleared her throat, "I promise I will keep to myself next time."

Bill nodded, "Very well. Good job, Caroline."

Elisabeth gave another squeal. She ran up to her daughter hugging her tightly. Caroline and her father kept their gazes locked.

"You are dismissed."

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed!**

**Moral of the story: whenever you feel like you've lost everything it is possible that you are actually gaining something. If that makes sense :P**

**Next chapter: the Mikaelsons show their pirate selves! ;)**

**Follow me on Tumblr if you'd like: lostinmyvampireworld  
I follow back :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**

**Hello lovelies, first off I would like thank each. And. Every. One. Of. You. Beautiful. Gorgeous. People. I do not deserve you wonderful klaroliners. Also I would like to make amends of some misunderstandings I have noticed many of you had, sorry it's my fault for not being clear.**

**Matthew is Matt Donovan from the show. If you Google him (like a true stalker) you will find that his name is actually Matthew. I found that more fitting to the theme of the story.**

**All the important characters of TVD will have their appearances in this Fanfiction, so stay in tune for that ;)**

**The Mikaelsons are pirates aka they are illegal sailors, for lack of a better explanation. The people who are sailing with Caroline are good sailors (again for lack of a better illustration.) so no Klaus is not a good sailor :p he's all baaaaaad.**

**Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: if I owned the vampire diaries Klaroline would have happened a long time ago, so no I don't.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Mystic Falls, 1700

Klaus let the sea breeze caress his face as he walked along the harbor. It was time he made another business transaction. As he treaded along the wooden floor he listened to his boots as they hit the ground, harmonizing with the seagulls in the sky.

With each passing boat, he gave a scrutinizing look. He studied the build, the type of wood, the width, length and the size with just a mere glance. It was a skill he had enhanced with experience. Klaus looked up at one of the ships that stood before him. It was absolutely damaged. It was a miracle it was still pulled together.

"I was not aware there was a sea creature strong enough to cause such damage." Said a female voice beside him.

Klaus didn't have to look to know who it belonged to. His sister always loved startling her brothers. However, over the years they became immune to her sudden appearances. Even though they never gave her the response she wanted, she continued to act like an independent shadow, out of habit and not out of spite.

"Not a sea creature" he educated her, "The years were simply harsh on her."

"I don't think she is a good buy." She teased her brother.

"I wasn't planning on purchasing that wretched ship wreck, you idiot." He retorted.

She glared at him, and then smiled.

"Hmm, very well then. How about this one here." She walked along the docks towards a large brown ship. It was well built, looked safe and could probably survive a thousand storms. Rebekah looked at it with indifference. It was actually one of the best ships at the harbor, but both Mikaelsons found it boring and too soft for their taste.

They both gave it a look, then turned to each other.

"No."  
"I agree."

They continued to walk and search, critiquing every ship that passed them. It was their form of quality moment. Nothing meant to them more than the matters of the sea. They then stopped at one of the ships. Klaus looked to his sister. She had a wide grin across her face as she regarded the beauty before them. It was definitely the biggest ship they had stumbled upon, and it definitely looked expensive. Klaus walked towards it, tracing a hand along its side, it was so smooth one would not think it was made out of wood. He could see that the surface was polished with a sleek black texture. Looking down, he glanced at where the ship and the water met. The glittering surface of the water reflected upon the ship's surface making it shimmer as well. It was a beautiful, strong ship.

Both siblings sighed, enjoying the sight of the light reflecting upon the black, metallic-like surface.

Rebekah opened her mouth, about to say something when a man's distant voice echoed throughout the empty harbor. Both Klaus and Rebekah turned to see who it was. An old man who limped came into view, he shouted something else but the wind was too loud for them to hear. It blew through their ears and whistled through the pubs and restaurants. Anyone who was normal remained in doors. Only crazy people would feel comfortable being thrashed around by the cruel wind, today.

Rebekah and Klaus were neither normal nor crazy. They were just so used to harsh weather that they didn't feel any discomfort, having experienced much worse. The old man finally reached where they stood.

"Good grief, kids. What o' earth are y' doing here?" he said, trying to hold on to his hat. He had a large white beard, and claimed only two yellowing teeth. Rebekah smiled at him, charmingly.

"We were about to leave for home when we passed this fine ship. Do tell me, to whom does it belong to?"

The man's grin widened as he looked at Rebekah, dazed. He looked back at the ship, eyes widening as if just noticing it there.

"Y'mean Beauty?"

Klaus and Rebekah smiled at each other. The name suited it perfectly.

"She one o'the best we have 'er! 'vryone smitten w'her. Belongs t' Captain Forbes too!"

Klaus was admiring Beauty, when he heard the name. His head snapped to the man so fast he pulled too harshly at a muscle.

"Ah." Klaus cursed massaging his neck, and then addressed the sailor, eyebrows higher than ever.

"_Forbes_?" He exclaimed.

* * *

Elizabeth held the envelopes in her hands. She was walking as fast as she could towards Caroline's chambers. A few maids watched her pass, some whispered, while other stared at their fidgety lady. Never did the woman act so out of place. Growing impatient, Elizabeth lifted up her skirt and started to pace faster.

"M'lady, is something the matter?" Elizabeth jumped, turning to find Matthew. He was exiting the kitchen.

"Oh darling boy!" she started to jump in her place, "The suitors. They- Oh for heaven's sake, child. There is no time to explain."

She grabbed the bewildered young man and pulled him along. Matthew almost tripped at the abruptness. They were about to go up a flight of stairs when someone else spoke up.

"Lady Forbes?"

"Oh dear lord, save me." Elizabeth gasped, out. She was getting more and more impatient. She looked behind her shoulder and cried out, "I'll explain when I return, do forgive me!" but then she stopped seeing it was Elena.

The woman turned, almost falling, as she ran towards Elena. Grabbing the brunette's wrist she pulled the two along with her. Despite her age, Elizabeth Forbes ran faster than the two youths. Matthew and Elena gave each other bewildered looks as the woman in front of them gained speed.

Caroline's bedroom door was pushed open so suddenly, that the blonde jumped with a squeal. She sat on one of her love seats by the window, reading a book. The doorway revealed a sweating, disheveled Lady Forbes, by her sides her two friends stood gasping for breath and clutching their chests.

"What in the name of heaven is wrong?" Caroline cried out, her heart beating so fast. Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak but gasped instead.

"The" gasp "Envelopes" gasp "Are coming in" cough "Like crazy" the mother spat out, finally.

"What envelopes?" the boy asked. The three ladies stared at him. He suddenly felt defensive, "What? I'm no girl. I'm unaware of how this whole matter works."

They all sat by the couches, as Caroline took the envelopes from her mother. She noticed names were written on the top left corner.

"Lord Thomas." She read one aloud.

"Darling boy, blonde, green eyes, has a large nose, but that shouldn't get to you too much, dear." Elizabeth answered. The three were breathing heavily, as they tried to calm down.

Caroline started to flip through them, there were about forty in her hands. She only gave a short glance at each name. To anyone else it looked like she was searching for one particular name in the bunch, but Caroline would never admit to it. When she couldn't find his name she looked up feeling a little disappointed. _What is wrong with you, Caroline?_ She thought to herself. _A few days ago you thought he was a murderer._

"Are these all?" She asked her mother.

"Some are still in your father's office. Those you hold are the ones he has already went through. I thought it would be nice if you would like to see who took interest in you. By god, Caroline. This is great for a girl who has attended but one ball!" Elizabeth said with a huge smile, her eyes twinkling again.

Caroline smiled at her happy mother. All she wanted was to make her parents happy with her. It was her goal ever since she was a child. Now that she saw her mother's glowing face, why did she still feel unfulfilled?

Two pairs of arms engulfed her, making her choke. She found Matthew and Elena grinning at her. With a laugh she squeezed them both back. Elizabeth watched with a cheerful heart as the three celebrated.

"M'lady." Said a timid voice by the doorway. Elizabeth looked to the girl.

"What is it Emma, dear?" she asked kindly.

"Lord Forbes wishes to see you and Caroline, M'lady."

They all stared, smiles wiped off their faces. Caroline and her mother gave each other worried looks. What now? Perhaps more envelopes. Perhaps one of them finally had the name she wanted to see. The two blondes departed the chambers leaving Elena and Matthew hoping it wasn't something that would disrupt the happy atmosphere, for Lord Forbes was an expert at bringing people down.

* * *

He raised a hand, between two fingers laid an envelope. Elizabeth took it carefully, fearing it might explode. She read the name on it with shock then looked up at her husband. He didn't not utter a single word ever since his daughter and wife joined him in his work place. He looked away, not meeting his wife's shocked gaze.

"Bill." She whispered. "No."

Caroline got up and strode up to her parents, "What is it mother?"

The married couple did not turn to Caroline, completely ignoring her. Elizabeth's shocked face turned into that of anger. She glared at her husband, "How could you? He lives in France, too far away from home!"

He didn't answer her; he only scratched his chin, watching a few birds perched on the window sill.

"He is too old, too dreadful. Bill, he was married twice before! Why send her away?!"

The man banged his desk, standing up to glower down at his small wife. "It is best for everyone. He is the richest, wealthiest man of the bunch" He spat out, giving a gesture at the envelopes on his desk. They both glared at each other, before he looked away.

"Mother." Caroline repeated, panicking. When she didn't answer, Caroline grabbed the envelope between Elizabeth's hands and read the name at the top left corner.

"Lord Malory?"

No one answered.

"Who is Lord Malory, mother?"

Surprisingly, bill was the one to answer, "Your future husband, a good man. I have arranged my men to prepare my best ship, Beauty, by tomorrow night."

Caroline's heart sank, her hands started to feel numb. She gave a nervous laugh, surely her father was only jesting. She was met with his very sober gaze. Oh god, he was serious.

"But…" she was at a loss for words. "There are still plenty of balls to attend. Why this man? And what of his dead wives?" she looked to her mother, hyperventilating, "How did he know of me when he lives in France!"

Elizabeth didn't answer.

Her father did, "He sent one of his right hand men to the ball you attended. The gentleman saw you as fit to marry the Lord Malory. He hasn't been looking for a wife in _years_. The fact that he even took the least bit of interest in you is a miracle."

Caroline felt a rage take control of her, turning to her father she glared, "He sent _another_ man to search a wife for him?! Obviously he doesn't have the least bit of self confidence or he wouldn't have sent a butler to make decisions on his behalf! Doesn't he have a blasted mind of his own!?"

"SILENCE!"

Both Elizabeth and Caroline stepped back, wincing at the sudden scare.

"He is a fine, _wealthy_ man! Not too old that he can't grant you children! He will benefit our beloved town with his wealth. _Think_, Caroline! He has enough money to ensure no disease ever dares to take Mystic Falls!"

Caroline's eyes widened. "So this is why you are so set on marrying me off to the richest man of the bunch."

Her father looked away giving both women his back. He leaned both hands onto his desk.

"You don't care for me" Caroline continued, "You only care for your precious town. Well, what about what I want? Have you ever spared a second to ponder on what would make _me_ happy? The town is fine the way it is, it doesn't have to grow into a bloody kingdom!"

Elizabeth covered her mouth at Caroline's cursing, watching her husband with fear.

"Do you realize what you are accomplishing, father? You are _selling_ your daughter in exchange for power."

"Enough." Bill whispered, softly but dangerously. He paused before saying, "I am not a greedy man, Caroline. I care for the town as well as my own family. You will be happy with the man. He would ensure your kids are safe and healthy with the best education possible."

"And what if I don't want children! How else would he make me happy?!"

Bill remained quiet, his turned back looked rigid, and his shoulders were stiff as rocks. Elizabeth on the other hand was trembling, her mouth still upon her lips.

Caroline dared to take a few steps towards her father.

"You know what I think, _father_?" she took a couple more steps, "I think you are too much of a coward to admit you are a greedy man who lusts for power, wealth and lots and _lots_ of filthy money."

A hand met her cheek with so much force she was pushed against her father's desk. All its contents scattered across the floor. Elizabeth screamed.

"Caroline!"

Caroline felt tears in her eyes as she tried to get up, gripping a chair for support. She wasn't crying because of her father's cruel act, but because of the searing pain that blinded her. Her mother was instantly at her side, helping her get up.

"You could have maimed her, bill!" she screeched at the man. He only stood there; glaring so hard his eyes bulged. His face was a deep purple, his hands clenched into fists. Caroline gave her father a dirty look. She was too angry to feel emotionally hurt.

"You're bleeding!"

She looked down at her leg; a shred of glass was protruding from her flesh. She probably shattered her father's glass of water when she fell. Caroline knew that the pain she was feeling now was nothing compared to what it will become. She had adrenaline in her system. Once it was gone she would start to feel the full effects of the wound.

"We must get you to the nurse." Elizabeth said with a weak voice. Caroline allowed her mother to carry her out the office with one arm over her shoulder, but she refused to leave her father weak and defeated. She stopped her mother at the doorway, turning to the man she began to despise.

"Such a caring family man, you are." She said, glowering at him her lips turned up at the sides. The two women left, leaving Bill Forbes staring at the floor.

* * *

The old man nodded vigorously, with a grin. He was enjoying the company. After all it wasn't every day he met a gentleman and a lady who were interested in ships. Usually they sent servants to perform the transactions.

"Great man he is, me captain! Always lookin' out fer us."

Klaus nodded at the sailor.

"How much for it?" Rebekah asked.

A haunted look grew on the sailor's face, "Oh no, no, no lass. She too personal to the Capt'n. In fact he be using her tomorrow night sendin' me to get her ready!"

Klaus spoke up, "Ready for what, if you don't mind us asking?"

The sailor broke out into a hitched laughter, as if their lack of knowledge was humorous.

"Why for his daughter O'course! She's betrothed to Lord Malory in France! Richest gentleman I know if y'ask me! Now if y'excuse me, kids. I gotta go get her ready."

The old man gave them a salute before limping away into a pub, probably looking for men.

Rebekah turned to Klaus with a cry "Lord Malory?! The filthy old loony!? He tried touching my thighs the last time we visited his castle." Rebekah scoffed, clearly angry.

Klaus looked back at the ship. The girl was going to marry an old man. For some strange reason he felt a tightness in his chest, along with a bit of pain. He imagined Lord Malory's disgusting, wrinkled hand touch the blonde girl's thighs.

A rage surprisingly took over him.

"How about we ease the girl's sorrows, sister dear." He said with a smirk

Rebekah turned to him with a questioning look. Klaus smirked, allowing his message to sink into her head.

An evil grin soon crossed her features.

This was setting out to be a great deal of fun.

* * *

Caroline woke up gasping for breath. She looked around. The room was dark, and her candles were out. She didn't remember sleeping thought it was probably midnight. Her mother must have left her room at some point for she was nowhere to be found. Feeling alone, distraught and confused she broke out into tears.

Tomorrow night, she will leave her room, to probably never return to it again. Tomorrow night, she will let go of the hills as well as her childhood. Tomorrow night, she will pay her farewells to Elena and Matthew, the two people she would do anything to see them smile. Tomorrow night, she will kiss her mother's cheek goodbye, the one woman she trusted her life with.

She clutched at her sheets as she poured all her emotions out. She cried until her eyes went sore, until she was bending forward on her bed from the ache in her chest, until she couldn't even breathe. She cried until the morning light arrived, till she heard the household wake up and get ready for her departure, till her mother came in to wake her only to find her a complete mess. She continued to cry even when her mother took her into her arms, cooing and whispering soothing words into her hair, the same way she used to when she was a mere little child.

* * *

Elizabeth Forbes couldn't hold the tears any longer. She tried to keep them to herself so that she would not alarm her daughter, but seeing her now board the ship, she felt like she had lost everything. To Elizabeth nothing was more important than her daughter. Not even her husband. Ever since she had been betrothed to Bill she felt miserable. On her wedding day she cried like a child. But when Caroline was born she felt like all her past miseries were worth it. The love she never felt towards her husband was compensated through Caroline. She was the world to her.

As she watched her daughter wave, she hoped that one day Caroline would bear a child like herself, so that her misery with Lord Malory would be reduced to nothing at all.

Bill Forbes watched as everything proceeded as planned. He agreed to the marriage in such a short time so that Caroline would not refuse, or flee or even worse fall in love and choose another man. He needed the money terribly. He wouldn't be agreeing to such a horrible thing if it weren't for drastic measures. His ship business had been failing ever since ships of his were reported stolen or completely destroyed in battle with pirates. Bill was slipping into debts after debts after debts; he _had_ to do something about it. Not only did the Malory gentleman have his eyes on Caroline but he had made a deal with Bill. A deal that had consisted money. He could build new ships and hire the best of sailors to prevent any more from getting stolen. All his problems would be solved if Caroline marries the old man. However something tugged at his heart as he watched his workers load Beauty with cartons. Caroline had not said her goodbyes; in fact she didn't look at him at all. He noted she limped a bit from the wound on her leg. The nurse assured him she had stitched it up and bandaged. However, there would be a scar, a scar that would also imprint onto his mind planting the guilt of causing it.

"WAIT!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks as they watched two teens run across the docks towards Beauty. They stopped at her side staring up at Caroline.

"Elena? Matthew? Where were you this morn I looked everywhere for you two!" Caroline's voice cracked as she left the ship to run at her friends, hugging them both tightly.

"You didn't think you were leaving on your own did you?!" Elena cried out.

"We thought we were coming too!" Matthew said angrily.

He and Elena woke up to find the Forbes family gone. Panicking they grabbed their belongings kissed their families and ran for the harbor. Jeremy refused to leave with Elena but had wished her all the luck in the world. Matthew's mother and chef father wished him good luck. They knew how much their son loved adventures, and since he was of age to leave the house, he decided to leave with Caroline and Elena.

Now the two stood with luggage in their hands, breathing heavily from the run. The sea breeze helped them calm down.

"What about your families?!" Caroline asked, tears covering her cheeks, she was so happy a part of her childhood was to join her. Elizabeth walked over to the three young friends.

"Elena, Matthew, what on-"

"It is our choice." Elena said with a large smile, "We promise you we will be by your daughter's side the whole time."

"You mustn't worry about her when we are around. I shall fight anyone who dare touch a hair on her!" Matthew added.

"Oh please." Caroline laughed, encouraging everyone else to join her. Matthew blushed. Bill Forbes watched with a small smile. Caroline caught his gaze. Everyone turned sober as they watched father and daughter finally acknowledge each other. The moment quickly ended as Caroline picked up one of Elena's packages and walked towards the ship. Elizabeth gave Caroline one last kiss on the cheek, before letting her board the ship for the last time. She then turned to Elena, hugging her tightly, and kissed Matthew's cheek, making him blush even more.

It was only when the ship started to move away the harbor did Bill Forbes get the sickening feeling. He started to walk along Beauty's Dock. The walk turned into a pace, the pace then turned into a run as if he was trying to catch up with the ship. Caroline watched her father as he abruptly stopped at the far end of it, almost falling into the sea. He stayed until the ship was completely out of sight. _What have I done?_ He thought to himself.

* * *

_A day and a half later_

Aboard Beauty, 1700

The two girls spent their time on deck basking in the sun. Caroline was leaning on the railing at the very front of the ship, letting her waist length hair fly as she breathed in the sea while Elena sat on a chair reading as usual. They were enjoying the peace and quiet when Matthew came out of the cabin, his face an absolute green.

"I swear to you Caroline, had you warned me about sea sickness I wouldn't be with you today."

The two girls laughed. Elena bookmarked her page, closed it then turned to Matthew.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Better now that I have rested."

"Do you know what is for lunch?"

"Really Elena? I'm talking about retching and you decide to bring up the topic of food? What is the matter with the way your head works?!"

Elena slapped his arm, playfully

"I haven't eaten since morn! I really don't understand how the galley works sometimes. How can these sailors survive a day with only 2 meals?!"

"Oh I do not know, probably due to the fact that they are too busy sailing this bloody ship?"

Caroline laughed as Elena slapped his arm once more. The two began bickering and joking around when Caroline started tuning them out. She looked back at the turquoise sea and the pale blue sky. It was a beautiful feeling being on a large ship in the middle of nowhere. She felt like she was free of the world and its troubles, as if she left them all behind like she left the land. Ever since she could remember, she had this strange relationship with the sea. She never sailed before, so of course she remained curious about what lay beyond the shore. Caroline looked to her right, at the direction of the wind, letting it caress her face with its rich salty, exhilarating scent. She watched the sea as if it told her a story. _What a beautiful color_. She thought to herself. Another thing that mesmerized her was how the sea and the sky met to make the horizon. It looked like they were joined somehow, with a thin string of white.

And then a dot appeared.  
Caroline jumped back.  
It was gone.  
She looked over her shoulder to see if Elena or Matthew had noticed it but they both were too busy quarreling about food.

Caroline looked back and concentrated on where she last saw the queer thing.  
The dot reappeared, only this time it was much larger. Caroline narrowed her eyes to see it clearer. She remained staring, probably for an hour or a half when the object finally came into view.

It was a ship. Caroline laughed giddily. If she had to endure weeks of travelling on Beauty, she didn't mind at all. It was an adventure she always dreamt of. She would enjoy it till she was joined with her horrible betrothed. The memories of the sea would probably alleviate her torturous marriage.

After a few more minutes she was able to see the details of the ship. Caroline gasped in Awe.

It was large, probably just a tad smaller than hers, but it looked so much more powerful. The wood it was carved from was a dark brown, rich like chocolate. It had sharp corners and the sails were severely triangular, unlike Beauty which had soft corners and curved sails. What amazed Caroline the most was the front of the ship. It looked like a predator, a carnivore… a wolf. And sure enough she saw the carving on the side of it: the growling head of a beast. Beside it, written in pure gold, was the name of the ship.

Golden Wolf.

"The golden wolf." She whispered absolutely transfixed at the sight.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Caroline jumped to see a sailor scream in warning, he was pointing at where she was gazing at the ship. Suddenly as if hitting her right in the face, she realized. They were under the attack of the crew of the Golden Wolf.

"Bloody hell!" she cried out, very unladylike.

"You fools!" a high pitched voice said.

Caroline looked around to see who it belonged to. A tall man with a huge, muscled chest was thrashing around in fear. He looked so intimidating and scary; Caroline wondered why on earth would such a man be afraid.

"It's the Golden Wolf, you fools! We're all doomed!" he cried out, she swore she could have seen tears in the man's eyes. To her absolute shock, the man ran to her and grabbed both her upper arms.

"Run M'lady!" he screamed into her face spitting a bit. "No one can defeat them, NO ONE!"  
and with that he jumped onto the railing and dived into the sea.

Caroline gasped going after the man to try and stop him from taking his life, but someone grabbed onto her skirt.

"Caroline! Are you _mad_?!" it was Elena; she had fear etched on her face as she looked at Caroline. "We need to hide, _now_!"

Caroline nodded fiercely before following Elena and Matthew down to the cabins. It was crazy crowded. Sailors grabbed their weapons, others hid the goods, while some simply panicked. Caroline looked for an empty cabin space at the same time ensuring she does not lose sight of Elena or Matthew.

"In here!" Matthew shouted out, grabbing his two friends and pushing them through a door. Once they all entered they closed the door, locking it and placing heavy objects such as drawers and tables before it. They stood back gasping. It was quite except for the shouting and screaming outside. Elena began to hyperventilate, close to tears.

"Elena." Caroline embraced her friend tightly, "Do not worry, they shall see we are harmless and leave us be." although Caroline highly doubted that.

"Shh." Matthew said, his brows were joined in concentration and his finger at his lips. It was odd; the entire ship was silent. How could that be? Only a minute ago Beauty was under an attack. Is it possible that her crew were able to fight the Golden Wolf off?

A bang sounded at the door. Elena screamed.

Someone was trying to break in. Caroline looked around for a weapon, she found a sword. How convenient! She grabbed it and stood straight, aiming the tip at the door. Matthew stood beside her with a pocket knife, Elena was cowering behind Caroline.

Another bang.

The adrenaline rushed through her, making her feel courageous and strong.

Another bang, the door was about to give away, the objects that blocked it moving as well. Whoever kicked the door was strong. It was probably more than one person.

Another shove and the door blew up into pieces. Elena screamed again.

Caroline tried to look through the timber that filled the air, to see the intruder. Oh _no_. she thought to herself.

It was Niklaus Mikaelson!

"Hello love." It was the first time she heard him speak, his voice was like music she noted despite herself.

"YOU." She spat out, swinging the sword to intimidate him.

Behind him two others laughed: Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson. What on earth were they doing here?! they were dressed in weird clothing, completely different from their attire at the ball. Caroline narrowed her eyes as she thought. They were dressed like… like pirates!

Her eyes widened at the realization. Sun kissed skin, daring personalities, Englanders but did not stay in England for long. How could she have not realized this earlier?!

Caroline switched her focus back to Niklaus. He took a step forward, placing a foot on the drawer that toppled over.

"Oh you remember me?" Klaus chimed, as if talking to a dear friend. He broke out into a mischievous grin, "Fantastic."

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed! I had a guilty pleasure adding 'fantastic' at the end ;)  
sorry if it was a bit too long!**

**Follow me on tumblr if you'd like: lostinmyvampireworld  
I follow back :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:**

**First off I'd like to present to you the new image of Lovers At Sea. This was a banner created by Klausncaroline on Tumblr. It was just too amazing that I couldn't let it go unseen. Thank you Klausncaroline for making my entire week with this! **

**Another thing is that I have finally started my senior school year today. I am sad to say that the updates are going to have to come in later than usual. Not too late that a week will pass by without me updating, but I wouldn't be able to update every day as I have been doing. Whoever knows what the IB curriculum (International baccalaureate) is, just know that this unfortunate author is enduring it. :(**

**But I will never give up on this story and all those people who have followed, favorited and best of all reviewed it. You guys inspire me to become the writer I wish to be. 3 I truly love you people!**

* * *

Chapter 4:

Aboard Beauty, 1700

Rebekah and Kol were first to react. They both moved forward, Kol to grab Elena, Rebekah to grab Matthew.

The brunette ran behind a large chest vault, she looked around, looking more like a lost rabbit. The Mikaelson was about to reach for her when she decided to open the chest on impulse. In it lay clothes that probably belonged to one of the sailors. The smell of sweat erupted from the chest making Kol and Elena back away from it in disgust. The two locked gazes for just half a second before Elena lunged at the clothes, grabbed at random, and then chucked them at Kol. Kol yelled in frustration as a sweat drenched pair of breeches made its way to his face. Caroline would have laughed had it been between Matthew and Elena. But it wasn't. It was between a young, fragile lady and a pirate. Unfortunately, the chances weren't in Elena's favor. To Caroline's absolute dismay Kol grabbed Elena's arm, and pulled her towards him, her back to his chest. He used one of the clothes from the vault to tie Elena's hands behind her back then pushed her onto the floor, absolutely helpless. She began to writhe and scream, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Matthew wasn't doing well either. Even thought he was up against a girl, his chances remained slight. He was a chef's boy, after all, and had no power to beat an experienced pirate. Rebekah walked towards him, trying to hold back a laugh as he held out his pocket knife. He swung it at her face, which she gracefully arched her back away from. He tried a couple more times, failing with each swing. She rolled her eyes.

"Darling, stop playing with that toy." She said, walking faster towards him. He swung the knife at her, this time she didn't duck. Instead she blocked his arm with hers, knife inches away from her nose. She grabbed the darn thing and swung it across the room, hitting an oil lamp, making it fall to the floor with a crash. Kol threw a shirt at her from the unknown sailor's chest vault. She caught it and used it to tie Matthew's hands. She pulled his helpless self away from his friend, leaning him against a wall.

The two thrashed and turned as they tried to free themselves. Caroline wanted to run to them, assist them, but she wasn't exactly alright, herself. She turned to Klaus with a murderous look.

"You are no gentleman! You filthy thief!" She cried out.

Klaus placed his hand on his chest, pretending the harsh words hurt his feelings. Rebekah laughed. Klaus smirked, "That's no way to talk to someone who helped you but just a few days ago. Or have you forgotten that little scenery."

Caroline looked down. She refused to let the fowl man see the blush on her face. It was true, and she hadn't thanked him properly either.  
_And he was never going to get it from her._ She thought with determination. She was about to look up at him once more when a hand went around hers, the one that held the sword. She looked up to see Klaus, a fierce look on his face. He grabbed the sword and threw it at Rebekah, who caught it by the grip.

Caroline didn't get the chance to gasp, for he turned her so that her back was up against his chest. He brought his face to her ear. His warm breath caressed her neck, making her nerves tingle.

"I believe you have no choice but to welcome us aboard you ship." he whispered softly. Caroline felt her cheeks heat up at the intimacy. There was absolutely no space between them. She hated it when people evoked unwanted emotions within her. It made her feel out of control. She bit her lower lip angrily.

"In your wildest dreams." she growled, and with that she stomped on his foot, pushing herself away from him with all her might.

"Ah! Why you little…" he muttered angrily. Rebekah's eyes widened. The girl's strength was unexpected.

Caroline made her way to Matthew, but never reached him for Klaus had grabbed her wrist. She twisted and thrashed, beating his chest with her small fists. With a scowl he grabbed both her hands to force her to look him in the eye.

"Where in bloody hell did you get that strength from?" He said, eyeing her arms. She had muscles instead of fat. It made Klaus think of what lay underneath all the clothes she wore that hid her figure. She probably claimed a lean fit body. Thinking of that made Klaus think of _other_ ungentlemanly things. He quickly shook the feeling off. _This is not the time_, he thought to himself.

"You are a fowl man! I hope the law officials catch you and your crazy family!"

Klaus glared at her as she continued to struggle out of his grip. Someone else's hand covered her mouth from behind, forcing her to breathe some sort of powder. Caroline's heart sank. Would it kill her?! She tried to scream but her voice died out, beginning to feel dizzy and weak. Slowly she felt herself slip away.

* * *

Klaus brought an arm around the blonde's waist, preventing her from falling to the floor. Elena screamed while Matthew swore rudely at the female pirate.

Rebekah turned to him with a smile. She couldn't possibly care less.

Klaus looked to her, "What have you done?" he whispered in absolute shock.

"Relax, Nik, she is only asleep." She said as she brought her palm up to show her brother the violet powder in her hands. He met her eyes with a questioning look. Never had he seen such a thing at his sister's disposal. Rebekah grinned.

"It's my secret weapon. A kind of herb a Spanish man at a pub once showed me."

"What would possess you to use that?" he asked, disapprovingly. Causing your opponent to lose senses during a fight was a low for a pirate. The fight was what made the whole thing enjoyable. Without a little bit of competition pirating ceases to be fun. It was basically considered cheating: a cowardly act.

"Relax, Nik." Rebekah repeated with a roll of her eyes. "I only keep it for unexpected moments." She cocked her head and raised her eyebrows at Caroline who lay lifeless in her brother's arms, "This was too unexpected to even begin with."

"Have you ever used it before?" he asked her, too disturbed with the situation.

Rebekah shrank away, a gesture she always did when one of her brothers scolded her for misbehaving like a little girl.

"I've only used before on…" she trailed not daring to continue. She looked down in guilt.

Klaus's eyes widened, "You used it on _him?_" he laughed before continuing, "He's annoying but not to an extent that I'd rather see him faint!"

Elena and Matthew stared at the two. How could anyone find an unconscious person to be humorous?

* * *

She woke feeling dizzier than ever. Her body was so stiff it was too painful to move. She let her head fall back, hitting the wall and causing her hair to fall away from her face. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second then opened them, hoping that that would clear her vision. She saw a figure on the floor, her eyes focused on it, after a couple of seconds, to reveal a horrified Elena with hair stuck to her cheeks from the tears and sweat that covered them.

"Elena." She mumbled.

Matthew and Elena turned to Caroline.

"Caroline!" Matthew cried out.

"Oh thank God, I thought something went wrong with the powder and you had died." Elena whimpered.

"Powder…" Caroline repeated in a low voice, her head was not in its right place. "Powder." She said a bit more defined. "POWDER!" she screamed, absolutely raged at the Mikaelson siblings.

"Yes I heard you the first few times, love!" Rebekah entered the cabin, a wide smile on her face, "how are you feeling?" she said crouching onto her knees to reach Caroline's level.

"Peachy."

Rebekah laughed. "Well I hope you remain comfortable. I'm going to call for my brother Niklaus, I'm sure you remember him from the ball as you remember all of us, Mikaelsons. Oh and if I must say, nice punch." Rebekah gave her a smile before straightening up and walking out.

Caroline would have glared but for some strange reason she felt like Rebekah was complimenting her rather than insulting her quick temper.

After a moment, Rebekah re-entered the cabin, following her were two bare-chested men in breeches and boots. Caroline stared at one particular bared chest before looking up to meek Klaus's eyes. She looked away quickly, thankful her hair hid her cheeks. But it was of no use, he had noticed the pink of her blush. He hid a smirk as he walked over to the blonde and grabbed her upper arm. Caroline gasped as he one handedly pulled her up into a standing position. Her hands were still tied behind her back rendering her helpless. They kept their eye contact for a while until he pushed her before him.

"After you, sweetheart. There are a few _very_ important things we need to discuss." He said. Elijah, the other bare-chested man left the cabin last, he gave the other two hostages an apologetic look before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Caroline was tugged along by Klaus. As she finally walked out the cabin she found the sun setting. How long had she been out? She looked at Klaus and then at the two siblings behind them. They were obviously waiting for her to regain consciousness. Caroline gulped as she faced what awaited her.

She suddenly paled.

Beauty's crew members were all tied up in ropes. She looked around her. 12 sailors, all unable to prevent 5 Englanders from taking over a ship. She was surprised to see one of them completely soaked in water. It was the muscular man who jumped off the ship! She realized. His chest was dry but his breeches and hair were still very much wet. She heard a whimper, looking up she met the man who uttered it. She jumped, stumbling into Klaus as she gazed at the horrific (and slightly comical) scene.

A man was wrapped around in ropes protruding from above. He was twirling around very slowly as the wind pushed him like a mobile toy that hung over a toddler's cradle. How on earth did the man get up there? Better yet, how did the Mikaelsons get him into that position?

"It was Kol's doing."

Caroline jumped away from Klaus, who she had been leaning on the whole time. His chest rumbled when he spoke with her near his chest.

"He likes to torture his opponents quite a lot." Klaus continued. It was unnerving how he was speaking of a poor man being hung as a Christmas tree decoration like he was talking about the weather. Caroline gulped again.

"Back to business." He said clapping his hands together and bringing the tip of his fingers to his lips.

"I want your ship." he continued.

A female cleared her voice.

Klaus rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Pardon me, _we _want your ship and since we are in control of it. I believe it is ours now." He said grinning.

Caroline eyes widened. "What about my journey?! How am I supposed to reach my… my-"

"Your young, handsome betrothed?" Klaus suggested, smiling to himself.

She stared daggers at him, sensing his sarcasm. How on earth did he know of Lord Malory? "I promise you Lord Niklaus, or must I say thief of the seas, I will reveal your profession to all of England. They will be disgusted of you, probably banish you from ever setting foot on the land again. Try and find admirers then." She said with a smirk, believing she hit a nerve.

Klaus and Elijah chuckled while Rebekah downright laughed. He sobered up before answering, "Kol would love that, actually. No more women to annoy him out of his head."

Caroline's straight posture wavered. She was losing. What would happen to her once they got what they wanted? Throw her into the ocean? Leave her on a deserted island so that she never returns to civilization and speak of the pirate Mikaelsons again?

Klaus noticed the despair in her eyes. Elijah spoke up noticing her panic as well. He hated emotionally torturing people and always sought to relieve them.

"We are prepared to offer you a deal, Lady Forbes."

"Absolutely, brother!" Klaus laughed nodding thanks to Elijah before turning back to the blonde.

"You see Caroline; we loved Beauty from the very start. We couldn't possibly let her go! So you should imagine our relief when we realized the ship was Forbes property and that it was to sail to the old Lord Malory."

Caroline stared with a dumbstruck expression still surprised they knew all of this. As if reading her mind he continued.

"One of your father's sailors couldn't stop talking about the ship. Were it to be a woman I wouldn't be surprised if he asked its hand in marriage. Anyway" Klaus began to pace circles around Caroline as he watched her respond. "Rebekah and I felt pity for you so we-"

"I don't need your pity." She interrupted.

"So we decided" he continued as if she had said nothing. Caroline wanted to spit on him for ignoring her. "We would save you from your disastrous future and at the same time take your beloved Beauty as payment."

"You think you are doing me a _favor_?!"

Klaus stopped with all seriousness, "Trust me when I say, we are doing you a huge favor. Lord Malory is not but old and wrinkly."

Rebekah came to stand by her brother, "Oh no!" she said with mock shock, "He is much more than that!"

"That's enough, Bekah." He said. He didn't appreciate it when his sister takes his spotlight. Very much like two children.

"He's greedy, ugly, dirty, disgusting, rude, filthy, smelly and last but absolutely not a minor characteristic." She gave Caroline a look, "very perverted."

Klaus chuckled, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. Elijah came to stand by his other side. The three grew serious as they regarded Caroline. She began to feel afraid, like she finally realized she was in the presence of ruthless pirates.

"We leave you two choices." He said, "You're either to be left on a deserted island…"

Caroline's heart pounded against her chest, so hard it ached.

"Or you join us."

* * *

Matthew glanced at Elena. She was crying so hard she went pale a half hour ago. He grew worried for his friend's health.

"Elena, we'll make it through this okay?" he reassured her.

She wasn't able to speak. All she could do was give him a nod.

He began to fidget again. This was insane. He couldn't just sit here and leave Caroline with _them_. He looked around frantically for any sign of hope when his gaze landed on a pocket knife. His brows furrowed. It was _his_ pocket knife. Something his father had given him before he left. His heart ached for his family but right now he had to do something about his helpless state. He jumped to the right in his seat. He tried to do it a few more times but it was too slow and tiring he stopped. He began to grow agitated and frustrated.

The anger began to make its way to his guts. He was a man and he had let a girl trick him and tie him up. What would his friends back home say if they knew of this? Caroline had been an exception since she had beaten them as well. But another woman? How much could they let past before they start calling him a cowardly little girl? More importantly, what would his parents say? They'd feel pity of course. Somehow Matthew found that to be worse.

The anger turned into a surge of energy. He used it to make one last swing to the right moving a greater distance than before. If he continued at this rate he'd be able to reach the pocket knife in no time. He was busy congratulating himself until he fell to his side into a fetal position.

"Ah!" he cried out. Pain shot through his upper arm.

"Matthew, what is it?!" Elena cried out.

He swung himself to the left so that he was sitting once more, and then looked at his right shoulder. Pricks of blood stained his shirt. His head swarmed with the smell. Matthew hated seeing blood, it made him nauseous and queasy ever since he was a child and he had hit his head against a kitchen table giving him a wound on his head. His hair covered the scar, it was barely visible even if you tried looking for it, but Matthew had always felt it there, reminding him of the blood. It was probably his only nightmare.

He whimpered, looking at the blood on his clothes. Closing his eyes he laid his head back against the wall. He can't do it.

"Matthew, it's alright it's just a few drops of blood." Elena said with a weak voice.

He gave himself a beating in his head. _What is wrong with you?_ He thought to himself. _Be a man for once in your life. _He opened his eyes with great determination and looked at the ground where he had fallen and injured himself. Beads of blood and… glass, shreds of small pieces of glass.

His fear turned into curiosity as he regarded them. Where did they come from? It hit him then. Rebekah had thrown the pocket knife at something, at an oil lamp! It fell to the floor and shattered! The pieces of glass he saw before him were from the very same oil lamp. He looked around, this time with much more excitement. If only he could find a large piece of it to cut away at the clothe that restricted his hands.

And there it was, much closer than the pocket knife. A few more swings and a bit of twisting he was able to bring his hand to the sharp shred of glass. He positioned it so that it was between his hands cutting at the clothe. He started to slice.

* * *

"Well? What will it be?"

Caroline couldn't get over the first shock wave that immobilized her.

Become one of them? As in a criminal?!

"You want me to fight alongside you?" she asked. Her ears were probably twisting their words. She definitely did not just hear that as a request.

"No, only join."  
"Yes, you will fight."

Klaus and Rebekah gave each other a look.

"No." Klaus repeated, "She will only join us, as in sail with us. Not fight."

"Yes." Rebekah repeated her nose close to her brothers in a threat. "She can't come with us if she doesn't learn how to fight like a pirate."

Become a pirate? Caroline felt her legs begin to go weak and numb. This was not what she had expected sailing to France.

Klaus grew agitated. He grabbed Rebekah's arm harshly and dragged her away from Caroline.

"Absolutely not. It's going to take too much time and effort from our hands. Besides she's a girl!" he bellowed in a whisper. Rebekah gave him a look. Klaus looked up at the sky in realization.

"Right." He said before she dragged him back to Caroline.

Rebekah smirked, happy to get things done her own way. Klaus sighed and addressed the blonde.

"You shall join us but not fight. Do we have a deal?"  
Rebekah turned to her brother with an incredulous glare.

Caroline grew pale. "Does that make me a pirate?" she said with a steady voice that surprised her.

"No, merrily a companion." He said with a smile, ignoring his sister.

Caroline nodded. "Very well, join you it is."

Rebekah stood before him blocking his view of Caroline.

"What the bloody hell?" She spat out.

"She is a girl. You on the other hand are a monstrosity on this earth; you also act like a man so I don't see how you two are from the same gender." He moved away from his sister leaving her dumbstruck with her mouth opened into a wide, huge O.

"LET HER GO!"

Everyone, even the trapped sailors turned to find a red faced Matthew and a shivering Elena by his side. Caroline froze. She didn't think she ever saw Matthew this angry before in her entire life. Klaus laughed placing a hand on Caroline's shoulder making her shiver. She mentally kicked herself.

"No need for all that, mate. See for yourself."

He bent down to look into her eyes, devoid of the humor he had before. She suddenly felt warm all over, like he wasn't doing this to punish her and that, in fact, he wanted to help her escape the horrid life France has in store for her. She glared at him as she refused to believe the message he was trying to send across.

"Tell your friends and your crew of your decision, love." He turned to look at every single sailor including the one that hung above their heads. "And tell them that whoever fights back, won't find themselves in a pleasant position."

Caroline didn't need to say anything. The message was loud and clear. Everyone remained silent as if assuring the Mikaelsons that there won't be anyone willing to fight back. No one dared for never had there been a movement against the crew of the Golden Wolf.

* * *

Caroline twisted to her other side. She had been lying on her mattress the past two hours trying to get at least a wink of sleep but to no avail. She sat up in frustration and looked over at the two other mattresses. Elena and Matthew lay fast asleep. She envied them.

The three decided to share one cabin for they were too afraid to separate. The rest of the crew was asleep as well. Caroline's orders were their commands and since she had made a deal with Niklaus that she would join them the crew followed suit. Caroline stood up and sneaked out the cabin. She needed fresh air. The minute she rose to the upper deck she was met with a cool fresh breeze. It was exhilarating.

She walked up to her favorite place aboard Beauty: the very front. She stopped at the helm which was used to steer the ship, running her hands along the handles. The wheel fascinated her. How can something so small control something so large and heavy? Of course it wasn't small compared to Caroline. It was half her size and four times wider than her. She continued to walk further front stopping till she met the railing. She sat down and gazed at the sky.

It took her breath away. Instead of the turquoise sea meeting the pale blue sky during the morning, there spread a large deep indigo body of water and a black sky. The water sparkled more than it did during the day, probably reflecting the millions of stars above.

She gasped noticing the amount of stars. The sky was draped in them. She saw different sizes and different light intensities. It was like looking at a crowd of people through a bird's eye; different hair colors, different heights. Stars reminded her of people, she suddenly realized. Each probably had their own personality. Caroline laughed at her imagination.

She got up, tilting her head as much as she could. She giggled again. Now that the sea was gone and the only thing she saw was the star-filled sky, she felt like she joined them. Like _she_ was a star herself, look. She twirled and turned, walked and jumped around with her head tilted up. If anyone were to walk by and see her this way they'd think she needed a doctor. For a moment, she saw nothing but the stars and the sky, but then a face appeared.

Caroline gasped realizing she was looking at a sailor. She stepped away from the man who loomed over her. He looked so angry that creases and wrinkles covered his face up as he frowned. Caroline was instantly afraid of him.

"You." He accused her with a pointed finger, he was so muscular and big Caroline cringed away from him again. "You're the reason im under the influence of the blasted Golden Wolf."

Quickly enough that she didn't have time to react; he grabbed her and placed a heavy, large hand on her lips. She screamed and yelled but only a moan came out. She started to feel suffocated.

"I don't want to be a pirate! I only became a sailor to your wimp of a father so that I can feed my parents, wife and kids! Now that I shall probably never see them again I blame you for it!"

With his other arm wrapped around her shoulder he half dragged half carried her to the railing. She swung her legs with all her might, hoping that would make him drop her but it only made him move faster.

"If that blonde one didn't have his eyes on you he wouldn't have had eyes on this ship. You're the reason for this attack. You're the reason for us all being under their control. You're the reason I shall never see my family again." He growled like a beast. His voice cracked at the end as he mentioned his family. Caroline would have felt bad for him if it weren't for the situation she was in.

"And for that, I must end your life." He spat into her face. He picked her up and held her over the railing. Caroline peered down over the hand that covered half her face. The sea was black and dangerous.

Tears began streaming down her face. He was going to drop her. No one was there to save her this time. Suddenly she was pulled away by another pair of hands. She gasped for the breath that she had been deprived from, looking up to see her savior.

Niklaus, and behind him stood Rebekah.

The man was so huge he probably had the build of the two siblings joined together. Caroline felt like they had no chance against the brutal sailor.

The man swung his large fist at Klaus but he dodged, unfazed. He growled, aiming again only this time at Klaus's torso instead of his head. Niklaus grabbed the man's hand and kicked him in his belly making him bend over with a grunt. Rebekah blurred by Caroline, appearing behind her opponent. Caroline felt the sailor fought with only his physical aspects. The Mikaelsons, though smaller than him, were more calmed, graceful and quick. She felt like they were dancers with a choreography planned out before them rather than fighters. The brutal criminal was very much clumsy.

Rebekah hit at a sensitive part on his neck, soon enough the man fell to the ground, unconscious. She regarded Caroline.

"Hit your opponent there." She pointed at the area she had bruised, "He falls like you had just shot a duck with a gun."

Klaus elbowed his sister. She looked up defiantly, "what, Nik?! I am merrily teaching her how to defend herself. She is no more a fighter than this man over here." She reassured her brother, shoving the unconscious sailor with her feet a bit.

Caroline stared. Two minutes ago, she was just about to die!

Rebekah pulled her up with a helping hand. "Come, dear, I shall guide you back to your cabin." She said smiling at the dumbstruck Caroline.

"We won't have any of that." Klaus said appearing on Caroline's other side. The two looked up at him questioningly.

"You shall come aboard the Golden Wolf and spend the night there, not here." He explained.

Caroline was instantly pulled back to her senses. Finally herself again, she jabbed a finger at Klaus's chest.

"You shall not order me to stay away from my _own_ ship! I remain here!"

"Fine." Klaus said, raising his hands up as if in defeat, "Do as you please. After all, a man but not tried to murderer you tonight, surely no other would do the same. Your absolutely safe he-"

"Alright, alright! I shall come with you."

"Excellent." He said grabbing her upper arm and pulling her towards a small emergency boat.

"Rebekah, help me lower it."

"Alright." She said, stepping into the thing.

"Now where do you think you are heading to?" Klaus asked her. Rebekah looked at him, like it was obvious.

"I am coming with you to-"

"No, no, no. you stay here and guard the ship. I will send Kol off to join you in a moment."

Rebekah rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the boat. She knew better than to disagree with Klaus at the moment.

Caroline stepped into the boat. She felt too exhausted to bicker with him as well. Once the boat was lowered to the sea Klaus used the oar blades to move it towards the Golden Wolf. She tried not to stare at how his muscles rippled as he worked away. She instead craned her head to look at the ship from below. It was larger than she had seen it from afar. Caroline noticed an ancient spirit to it. Not only did it look intimidating and powerful but it had some sort of elegance as well. She then looked back at Klaus not caring if her gaze locked onto his chest any longer. She was glad he wore a shirt this time, or else she would have been drooling at the sight.

"What were you doing out of your cabin?" He asked, waking her from her reverie.

"I needed fresh air."

Klaus nodded.

"How did you know I was having a difficult time?" She asked.

"I heard struggling. Rebekah and I were guarding the ship. Elijah, Finn and Kol are aboard the Golden Wolf. This reminds me…"

He stood up, making the boat shake side to side. Caroline squealed and grabbed its sides, afraid that the boat would topple over. She did not know how to swim. It was an unnecessary skill ladies did not need to learn.

"KOL. ELIJAH. FINN."

Klaus bellowed, curving his hands around his mouth to make the call echo.

After a few minutes, a dark haired head appeared.

"Nik?"

"No, Father Christmas" Klaus answered sarcastically, "Yes, you brat, hand me the ropes!"

The head disappeared leaving the two to wait in the boat, looking down as they tried to make the moment less awkward. Caroline almost gave up on Kol returning. He probably left them to fend for themselves after Niklaus insulted him. But then two ropes were thrown down to them, so long that their ends reached the deck of the ship and back again. Once Klaus was able to attach both ropes to either ends of the boat he tugged, sending a signal Kol.

The boat began to lift suddenly making her jump. Klaus grabbed her arm, preventing her from falling out as the boat was pulled up to the ship. They locked eyes, both suddenly noticing the burning sensation Klaus's hand imprinted onto Caroline's skin.

"Am I interrupting something?" they both quickly looked to the side to find Kol leaning against a pole with his arms crossed. Finn was standing by his side, after all two were needed to raise the boat. The younger brother had the most amused, cocky expression Caroline had ever seen on a man. She puffed indigently pulling her arm away from Klaus and jumping off the boat onto the deck of the ship. She froze, looking around her. The exterior of the Golden Wolf was reflected upon the interior as well. The fabric of the sails was almost a pale golden color. She felt like they gleamed a bit. The hem was gothic looking, which made it seem elegant and ancient like a wise beautiful woman. The floor was a deep, rich brown, polished to an extent that it shined.

"Beautiful isn't she?" Kol whispered very near to her ear, that Caroline's heart missed a beat. Klaus kicked his brother on the shin.

"Ouch! Brother that hurt!"

"Just go assist Rebekah." Klaus answered with a tired grimace, unaffected by his brother's feigned outburst.

Kol hoped onto the boat with a grin, and with the help of Klaus and Finn he was lowered down.

Klaus turned to Caroline and placed a hand on her lower back, pushing her gently towards the lower deck. She tried to stay unaffected by his touch until they reached the rooms. there were only five cabins, one for each Mikaelson. Caroline noticed one door opened, in it a vanity and a few dresses. This must be Rebekah's. She was about to step into it when Klaus blocked her way, leaning a hand on the doorway.

Caroline raised her eyebrows at him.  
He mimicked, just to see the scowl on her face. He pointed behind her.

Caroline looked over her shoulder. It was another cabin; this one was much more disheveled, and had breeches and male shirts hanging around the room. Caroline paled. He was ushering her to his own cabin. Clearly he did not _think _that for a second she would be alright with sharing a room with a man, did he?!

Klaus smirked at her. Oh, he was _truly_ enjoying this.

"I need to keep both my eyes on you. Danger seems to follow you everywhere you go, and I can't have anything bad happening to you, now can I?"

"No, absolutely not!" she begun, "Forget about it! I shall have you know I am a la-"

She screamed, completely cut out from words. He had actually grabbed and flung her over his shoulder, like a child! The nerve of him! Klaus looked to his side to see Caroline's attractive derriere. He chuckled as he walked them both into his cabin, locking the door with a key and placing Caroline back onto her feet. She didn't miss a beat, swinging her hand to slap his cheek. He caught it easily.

"Careful, lass." He hissed. "I could so easily return you to your ship and leave you at the sailors' mercy."

She pulled her hand back, eyeing the key in his hands. He chuckled before bringing the key up to his face, shaking it to tempt her, then putting it into his breeches! Caroline's eyes widened. In order to get to the key she would have touch his pants. He knew she would never do such a thing. Oh dear lord why is this happening to her?!

He walked over to the bed, took off his shirt and made himself comfortable in his mattress, covering himself up with the silk blankets. Caroline eyed the soft paradise with envy. Where in hell was _she_ supposed to sleep?

"What are you doing standing there, sweetheart? Come. There's plenty of room for the two of us." Klaus called out to her.

Her eyes bulged. He… he actually… he actually thought she would _share_ the bed?!

"Are you bloody stupid? I. am. a. LADY! A betrothed one too! My fiancé will kill you and then me if he finds out about this."

He sat up angrily, "Ah, your right! But you see, you aren't a lady any longer, and you aren't spoken for anymore!"

"Not according to him and the rest of England as well as France!"

"No" he said starting to get annoyed, "but according to me you are no longer a betrothed lady but an accomplice to a pirate family. Get. In. to. Bed."

"I'd rather stand all night!" she screamed back.

"Suit yourself, lass." He went back to lying on his side, covering himself up with his damn soft blankets making her unable to see his face.

After half an hour, Caroline found herself swaying on her feet. She needed to sleep so badly! After all the exhaustion of today one must surly rest for a day or two, and she wasn't having any of it! She stomped her foot like an angry youngster, not caring if Klaus woke up at the noise. He didn't which made her even more raged. With a puff and a scoff she marched angrily to the other side of the bed. Tucking herself in, she tried to stay as far away from Klaus's half naked body as possible. She refused to even feel the heat that radiated from him and yet, she couldn't stop the butterflies from fluttering in her stomach. Niklaus was a handsome man after all, and she was about to sleep by his side. She grunted angrily at her feelings. Oh how she hated him for making her feel like this! The minute she laid her head on the soft pillows she found all the anger had drained away. A few more seconds and she was fast asleep.

Klaus opened his eyes, still awake.

A big wide grin on his lips.

* * *

**And there it is! Hope you enjoyed!**

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**I follow all my lovelies back ;) **


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:**

**Hello lovely people. First off I'd like to give you all a big thank you for reviewing, following and favoriting this story. I know it's been 5 days since I last updated, but it was my first week of senior year. And. It. was. Stressful. We barely adjusted before they started talking about colleges. The only thing that keeps me moving is writing this for all of you. So thank you for keeping me cheerful and energized. **

**So without further ado, **

**Disclaimer: I swear I don't own TVD. But one day Klaroline shippers will declare war. And we shall take over. And then happiness will be to those who deserve it.**

* * *

Chapter 5:

Aboard the Golden Wolf, 1700

"Ughh."

Caroline groaned again, she grabbed the sheets and flung it over her head. The sunlight easing through the small, closed, circular window was bugging her out of her mind. After a few minutes she started to notice the lack of air underneath the blankets.

"Dear lord." She sat up straight pushing the silk sheets away. This was absolutely ridiculous. The cabin greatly lacked essential furniture. For one there should have been curtains installed, even if it were just a small window that needed shading. She looked around noticing a closet was missing. Leading her to stare disgustingly at Klaus's chest vault. In it lay disheveled shirts and crumpled breeches. It was a miracle he kept his coats hung. She didn't even want to think about the permanent damage the unfolded clothes would have. But then again, the Mikaelsons were pirates. They probably didn't have the time or the energy to care for their looks, except Rebekah who seemed to look absolutely stunning in anything. Caroline looked down at her own attire. She still wore her puffed out, very delicate skirt and corset. She gave another groan noticing the damage on _her own _clothes. She was starting to become one of them! The horror!

She slouched, thinking about scented candles and long hot baths when someone abruptly came in through the door.

Klaus seemed to look around for something important, his eyes landed on a parchment. He bent down to pick it up from the floor and was about to turn around and head back out when he noticed Caroline glaring from the bed.

He smirked, "Ah and good morning to you too! What is the matter, love?"

"Don't you have the least bit of respect?" she spat.

He raised his eyebrows, not following at all.

Her eyes widened at his inconsideration. Raising her hands she yelled, "Knock!"

He remained quiet for a while before he started to whole heartedly laugh.

"Oh my dear, you humor me." he chuckled but then grew serious at her shocked face, "Your forgetting you lay on my bed, in my cabin, on my ship."

"I'm only here because you, for some unknown, ungodly reason, won't let me share a cabin with your sister!"

He opened the parchment and started to read off it as he answered uninterested, "She would have never liked sharing her precious chamber with anyone, besides I must keep watch over you, myself."

Caroline narrowed her eyes. The answer was uncharacteristically flawed. After all Rebekah would have liked female companion, surely after being around her brothers for only so long! He also didn't give her a good reason as to why his sister wouldn't be the one to look after her. As a matter of fact, Caroline thought indignantly, she didn't need watching over to begin with!

With a scoff she jumped off the bed and stomped out the cabin, making sure she bumped into Klaus's shoulder harshly as he read. He chuckled looking at Caroline's retreating figure.

What an entertaining little thing.

* * *

Caroline shielded her eyes at the glaring sunlight as she walked to the upper deck.

"Eep!" she squealed as two people hugged her tightly.

"Oh God! Rebekah told us what happened last night!" Elena moaned. She pulled away to look at Caroline with concern. She suddenly smacked her friend's arm.

"Elena?!" Caroline screeched, rubbing the pain away.

"Fresh air." She said. "Really? Couldn't you wait for, oh I don't know, a good time to receive it?!"

The blonde sighed; she will never hear the end of it.

"You get attacked by a pirate family who England believes are angels, your betrothed probably thinks you're dead, you get forced into joining criminals, and what do you choose to do? Take a nice stroll around your invaded ship, because nothing bad could possibly happen!" Elena added with much sarcasm. Matthew snorted. Caroline smacked _his_ arm. The three walked towards the front of the ship, Elena still scolding Caroline, who zoned out halfway through. She then noticed Elijah, Kol and Rebekah huddled up.

Rebekah sat on the railing, unafraid of falling off into the sea. She wore a Spanish red dress with lady breeches underneath. Caroline eyed it with envy; it was probably much more comfortable than what she wore. Kol and Elijah wore shirts and breeches. They were all barefoot.

Next to them, Matthew, Elena and Caroline looked like three who had gone to a never ending road trip through England.

As if sensing her train of thought, Rebekah turned to look at them with a gasp.

"You three look absolutely appalling!"

She hopped off the railing and stood close to Caroline, more than she would have been alright with. She assessed her disapprovingly.

"I might have just the thing for you two." She said pointing two fingers at Elena and Caroline. "Matthew, dear, you're going to have to borrow from Kol, I'm afraid."

"Why say it like it's a bad thing, sister?" Kol said joining them. Caroline looked at him. He didn't look hurt at all; instead he ran his fingers through his hair with a big wide grin. Still the cocky self, she presumed.

The smell hit her then, making her remember how famished she was. She looked over the two siblings' shoulders to see an entire buffet spread out across the floor. Elijah picked at it.

Rebekah looked over her shoulder to see what the blond was drooling at. She laughed.

"I guess that shall wait. You three should have breakfast with us."

Caroline was speechless letting Rebekah take her by the hand and lead her towards the food. Bread, milk, muffins, pancakes and honey? She looked at another spot that held chocolate covered strawberries and the best looking crème brulee she had ever seen.

"That's crème brulee?!" Matthew cried out. His eyes bulged as he stared at the food. For some reason, Caroline thought he didn't want to eat it, but stare at it the whole day instead. "I've never seen any this perfect before! The angle! The smoothness! Even the symmetry and the distribution of the brown liquid sugar is outstanding!"

Everyone stared at him.

"Thank you, young man!" Matthew jumped. He looked to his side to find Finn. The Mikaelson smiled as he held a tray topped with delicious looking pastries.

"You baked all this?!" Matthew squeaked, his voice going high pitched.

Finn gave a humble nod, "It's not much I admit but-"

"Not much?! Lord above! You could become a famous chef in England!"

"Well." Finn chuckled, "I am quite well known for my culinary art skills, but not in England."

"You can cook dishes from overseas?!"

"Well, Spanish dishes, French, Italian, Greek-"

"By God! You're amazing!"

Finn looked down as he chuckled. Matthew remained staring at him like a little puppy. Everyone else around them simply gawked at the two. That was very much unexpected.

They all sat to eat from Finn's delicious food. Caroline tried to follow along with the two chefs' conversation but lost her concentration halfway through. She turned to talk to Elena but found her stuffing food into her mouth. The blonde tried to stifle a laugh.

"What?!" Elena defensively asked her with a muffled voice; her mouth was a bite away from overflowing. "I haven't eaten since last morn!"

Caroline smiled as her friend grabbed another muffin and gulped it whole. Elena and Matthew talking about food was the last normal situation that had happened to them. She remembered Elena complaining about sailor's choice of cuisine and timing. She looked down at the feast. Apparently the Mikaelsons still had a trace of London left in them. She looked to the siblings. Rebekah sat straight and nibbled at her food like a true lady. Kol and Elijah laughed and conversed like true gentlemen. They didn't slouch like most sailors do, they didn't talk or spit with their mouths full like barbaric animals of the wild (Caroline stole a sideways glance at Elena) they didn't yell, or shriek or scream at each other with terrible language. They were as normal as any British family would be, but a few things made Caroline sure she regarded pirates.

She turned to Elijah, firstly. His face was relaxed with a small smile as he watched his younger siblings bicker. His head was bent slightly down in a humble posture, a gesture noble men often portray in the presence of other men of class. However, Caroline noticed his eyes would dart this way and that with surprising sharpness. If looks could kill he wouldn't have trouble slaughtering an entire army of men with his eyes. She noticed he studied the seas continuously, never letting a mere change leave his sight.

She then turned to Finn. Even though his entire concentration was granted to Matthew, as he conversed, she noticed he had a small butter knife in his hand. He was twisting it, turning it, throwing it into the air and then catching it. The astonishing aspect of it was that his eyes never left Matthew's even though he was obviously engrossed with their topic. Her friend was too busy talking with his hands and staring at the food that he didn't notice the pirate's queer talent with knives.

She switched her studying eyes to Kol and Rebekah. She noticed the brother kept flexing his arms and hands. Like he was preparing himself before a duel. Was he about to fight his sister? He laughed at something the blonde pirate had said, continuing to stretch his muscles. He did it out of habit! She realized. It was a subconscious act. Rebekah on the other hand was laughing and fooling around with a carefree attitude. It was hard to find the girl in a dark mood. Yet, when one looks closely into her eyes a deep sorrow can be found. Like a nightmare haunts her every second of her day. She tries to hide it from others around her but Caroline noticed it right away. She cocked her head to the side as she wondered what would ever trouble such a strong beautiful woman.

Kol stood up so suddenly that Caroline flinched away with a start.

"Bekah, darling! I challenge you to a fight" he paused dramatically before he added with a whisper, "to the death." he bellowed with mock seriousness. He leaned towards Finn to pull out his brother's sword from his sheath.

"Oi!" Finn yelled at him, but with an anticipating smile on his face.

Elena's eyes widened as she fearfully looked back and forth between Kol and Rebekah. She actually thought they would kill each other. Caroline laughed as Rebekah stood to match her opponent.

"Is that so, brother?" she asked with one eyebrow raised in amusement. "I'm afraid I have to pass, just this time."

Kol smiled triumphantly.

"Not because I can't beat you, but we have guests amongst us. I wouldn't want to embarrass you or anything of the sort." She added, making his smile disappear into a frown.

Everyone laughed, Caroline and Matthew grinned at each other. The two Mikaelsons reminded them of themselves, back on the hills, fighting with sticks. The only difference was that the sword in Kol's hand was definitely not for play. Matthew gulped, if Caroline owned a sword He would have been dead by now.

"Oh sister, you give yourself too much credit."

She laughed, "Well let's test it, shall we?! How about winner gets…"

She looked around for a prize. Her eyes landed on the jar of honey.

"The last spoon!" she declared dramatically. Everyone gasped, playing along. Kol nodded.

"Fair enough!"

Elijah chuckled to himself, normally he wouldn't encourage such fowl behavior in England but aboard the Golden Wolf, he didn't mind. he stood up, took out his own sword and threw it to Rebekah.

"Go on." He said with a smile, like he had just told a bunch of five year olds to play chase at the park.

The two grinned before quickly getting into position. One hand aiming the swords at each other, the other behind their heads. Rebekah swung her sword so fast at Kol she was about to hit him. He dodged it, easily; making her hit a pole instead. The impact caused a deep indent into the wood.

Elena screamed. Everyone else clapped. Caroline was enjoying herself immensely.

The two kept at it for probably hours. They both fought like true warriors that it was hard for Caroline to make up her mind on who was stronger than whom. The three friends watched the Mikaelson siblings as they dueled, finally letting go of the fact that they were invaded by them. They laughed and clapped and cheered and screamed in delight. Caroline couldn't remember the last time she felt such a thrill. She didn't remember the last time she was without a care in the world. Maybe it was because she had already lost everything that she ceased to care about anything. Caroline smiled to herself as she watched Elena hide behind Matthew with a grin. How ironic it was. One worries too much about losing that he doesn't dare enjoy what is his. Maybe a loss is a win in disguise. After all, she lost her normal life at Mystic Falls. She lost her parents and her eligibility – She knew that if she _did _return to England no man would dare marry her, not even Lord Malory as he would probably write to her parents telling them of her disappearance. That would make a scandal! No one would believe she survived any of this as a maiden. They would probably think of her as pirate already! – She lost everything that was dear to her, but she also gained _this._ An adventure. She hated it now, but she was willing to try and see it differently.

Hope filled her heart, making her think she wasn't in such a bad position when Klaus walked out of the cabins and made his appearance. All the good feelings were gone. Her smile turned into a groan._ As_ _long as that man was alive she had no chance at happiness,_ she thought childishly to herself.

He was still staring into that blasted parchment of his. Everyone went silent as they noticed his gloomy self. Caroline watched as he stared angrily at the floor. Something troubled him dearly and she wondered what it was. There was a storm in his mind that showed through his eyes. He looked up to meet Caroline's gaze. The storm was gone. She looked away feeling her cheeks go pink. Caroline hoped that it was the warm weather that caused this.

Rebekah and Kol returned their swords to their rightful owners. Play time was over.

"What is it brother?" Rebekah asked, noticing his troubled state of mind as well.

"May I have a word with you?" he answered, eyes still trailing along the paper.

Rebekah sighed, giving Caroline a warm smile before excusing herself.

Klaus lead his sister away from the others, but Caroline kept her gaze fixed at them, even though she heard nothing.

"How is the crew aboard Beauty?"

Rebekah grinned, "I won them over with my charm… and the occasional threat." She grew serious, "They follow us as we speak, all orders fully obeyed."

Klaus nodded remaining quiet for a while, before finally letting out what went through his head.

"It seems I have made a mistake with the mapping. I have lost track of it."

"What?!" Rebekah whispered, going as pale as the parchment. She knew he wasn't talking about Beauty.

"It does not make sense. The trails don't match; the timings are out of place. There's something peculiar about it."

"Are you sure you're not just misreading it?"

"No. I never misread matters like this."

Rebekah didn't retort. Klaus never misses anything. He was always one step ahead of the world. She sighed, knowing he would figure out its location sooner or later. She stared at the back of the map. Wondering where it could have gone to.

"Do you suppose our kidnapping of the girl could have disrupted the path?"

Klaus rolled his eyes, putting the map down angrily. Rebekah only grinned. He closed his eyes so as to not meet his sister's ridiculous expression.

"We. Did not. Kidnap. The girl." He opened his eyes to glare at the blonde before him. "We stole the _ship_. She is just benefitting from this. She wouldn't have to marry that lunatic."

"_She's_ benefiting, or are you?"

He lowered his head at his sister, making the glare much more intense. It would have scared a sailor to no end, but Rebekah remained smiling, taunting her brother even further.

"Are you sure this is no bonus for you?"

"Bekah…" he warned.

"Nik! I'm only jesting! Good lord, loosen up a tad!" she slapped his arm lightly.

His anger faded away as he looked back at the map.

"Sorry sister, I'll remain on edge till I find out where the bloody hell it is." He said walking away, head down at the parchment. He stopped to give his sister a dirty look over his shoulder.

"And I only did what I did for the ship."

"Girl."

"_Ship_."

He turned on his heels and stomped off towards the rest, leaving Rebekah smiling to herself.

Caroline looked away as he strode towards them. He sat between Elijah and Kol. The three stared at the parchment for a while until he rolled it up and put it away. What information did that parchment contain? She tried to crane her neck to see where he had put it into his coat when he looked up to meet her curious gaze. She froze, caught in the act. He chuckled at her then reached out for a chocolate covered strawberry. She watched as he ate it, suddenly starting to fancy one herself.

She was about to reach out and help herself when Rebekah pulled her up to her feet. "You two need changing! I can practically smell you from there!" she said pointing to where she and her brother had stood a moment ago.

Caroline groaned as she followed the eager Elena and Rebekah.

She really wanted that chocolate covered strawberry.

* * *

"I look absurd."

"You look beautiful and acceptable."

"I am always acceptable!"

"A few minutes ago you looked like a homeless peasant."

Caroline stopped to glare at her. Rebekah smiled.

"Out!" she said pushing her again. This time Caroline finally let go of the doorway causing her to stumble out into the opening.

The men outside were forced to watch the two girls, to congratulate their change. They were talking and laughing until Caroline came into view. Now, they all shamelessly stared.

She wore a similar dress to Rebekah's Spanish one but in blue. It brought out her eyes to the beholder. It was matched with a pair of brown leathered boots while her hair was up in a messy style. Caroline had to admit, it was the most comfortable attire she had ever claimed to wear.

Klaus felt his eyes bulge. How could anyone look this radiating? She made his eyes burn, made him feel lightheaded, frozen, surprised… protective. Behind her Elena emerged, she refused to wear a Spanish dress that reached just below the knee, Rebekah agreed to give her one of her pink long French dresses that grew too small on her.

The rest of the men turned to look at the second beautiful girl, who surprised them as much as Caroline had.

All men except Klaus. He didn't even bother turning to acknowledge the brunette's presence. His eyes were set on Caroline and only Caroline. The two locked gazes for a while, not bothering to say anything. Until she curtsied, making him chuckle. She looked like a pirate but remained a lady at heart.

Rebekah came into his vision, blocking the sight of the blonde. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. His sister wasn't going to let her part go unnoticed.

"Ta-da!" she said. "Much better, is it not?!"

The men nodded, still speechless.

Matthew walked towards his two friends in a puffed out shirt and breeches.

"I look like a little girl's doll." He said, looking down at his shirt in disgust. Elena and Caroline begged to differ, the wideness of the shirt made him look muscular and strong. He couldn't have been more dashing. Rebekah joined them.

"Matthew, you look handsome!" she said with a wide smile. He blushed as Elena joined in with the praise. Caroline nodded along for a moment before she began to search for Klaus. She didn't know what she had seen earlier. The look in his eyes: it was sharp and yet soft. Was that the reaction to her dress? Did he like it or despise it? She then spotted him surrounded by his brothers.

He was staring at her.

"Caroline?"

"Hmm?" she turned to Elena.

"Rebekah is going to show us her library. She's got cupboards full of them."

Caroline nodded noncommittally, letting her friend drag her away. She couldn't help but steal one last glance at Klaus. He was looking away, talking to Finn. For some strange reason she felt disappointed.

* * *

"So what are we to do?" Finn asked.

"That's just bloody fantastic." Kol said. He was pacing back and forth restlessly. The news from Klaus bothered everyone greatly.

"There are three possible paths it might have taken." Klaus repeated, patiently. The entire family was alone at last, in his office, to discuss his latest discovery.

"If it took this one" he continued pointing at a thin line on the map. "It is possible that it lies, as of the moment, here" a point. "Or here." another point.

Elijah nodded.

"However if this is the path it took, we won't be able to track it any longer." He said.

Klaus nodded. "There's nothing we can do, then."

"This is just great. Perfect." Kol stopped in his tracks, flapping his arms into the air. Rebekah sighed at her brother's despair. "We're doomed."

A pair of fists hit the desk. Everyone turned to Klaus. Even though the sudden movement caused the rest of his siblings to back away, Elijah remained leaning on the office table. He placed a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder. The two looked at each other. Klaus with frustration, Elijah with absolute tranquility.

"We will get through this."

* * *

Klaus barged into his cabin room angrily, startling Caroline.

"Dear lord!" she cried out. Klaus raised his head up to look at her. She was brushing her long wavy hair, no longer wearing Rebekah's clothes. instead she had a white, cotton chemise on. A pure angel. Klaus thought to himself.

She threw her brush at him.

He dodged it.

More like an angel from hell.

"What is the matter with you?! Trying to scare me to death?!" she grabbed another unknown object from her peripheral view and chucked it at him. He ducked again. She was angry at him, angry at how he had shocked her but also because of the way he had made her feel earlier. He was doing it on purpose! And from now on, Caroline would have none of it.

"Lass! Put that down!" he yelled at her as she grabbed an oil lamp.

Every time he inched closer to her she would edge away from him until the bed was in between.

"Why do you keep me here? Hmm?" she threw it at him. It hit the wall instead, shattering glass everywhere.

"What the bloody hell, Caroline! I merely shocked you, not declare war!" He said, surprised with her. She was over reacting.

"Oh you did more than that and you know it!"

Something else came flying from across the room.

"Don't play innocent!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. She threw another object.

"Lass." He warned.

"I want to go to your sister's cabin. That way whatever it is that you do to me will be down toned." She yelled.

"Forget about that, sweet heart." he said, getting angry with her. He had no clue as to what she was implying, but the fact that she was accusing him of an act he was sure he never performed filled him with rage. She continued to move away until she had nowhere else to go. He climbed over the bed with great speed that she didn't have time to respond. He was before her in mere seconds.

She flinched as he grabbed her wrists, to prevent her from throwing his sister's hand mirror at him. He then pushed her harshly against the wall, making her lose her attitude as quickly as it had come. She looked up at him in fear.

He simply glared. After a while, Caroline's fear turned into fascination. His face was completely contorted with anger. It was very different from when he was calm or when he smiled. Caroline looked into his eyes deciding to herself that she liked him best smiling.

She stared up at his face with no hint of repulsion as Klaus had expected. It made him feel relief that he did not scare her. The anger faded away as the two regarded each other, his body still pushing hers towards the wall. She sort of felt suffocated, but did not care for she was too busy studying Klaus. His hands were still at her wrists, pinning them against the cabin wall. She tried to smile but he looked away, not giving her the chance to apologize for her unwise behavior.

He was about to walk out the cabin when he stopped at the door. His bravado gone as he turned to regard Caroline. She remained unmoving.

"Careful. Because if this happens again I am not sure I would be able to stop myself."

Caroline looked down at the floor with a bewildered expression. What wouldn't he be able to stop himself from doing? Strangling her? Hitting her? Caroline looked back at the door.

Or was it some other gesture?

* * *

Rebekah knocked on his door.

"Nik?"

Klaus looked up, putting the paint brush away. He was creating weird sets of color on the canvas. He didn't even know what he had painted. It was a blend of Gold, yellow and blue all spiraling together to make no shape in particular. It was like an aurora at the polar regions of the world that Klaus had read about and seen paintings of. He cocked his head to the side as he tried to understand it.

"That's beautiful." Rebekah complimented.

Klaus nodded, it was definitely something that radiated beauty. "Thank you." He mumbled.

"Dinner is ready."

"I'll be out shortly."

Rebekah nodded, hesitantly walking out the office. She knew Caroline and Klaus had had a spat. They haven't talked or looked at each other ever since morn. Caroline kept to herself in Klaus's cabin while he holed himself up in his office, painting his heart out.

After a while he gave up trying to assemble the piece. He left his office just in time to see Caroline walking out of the cabin. She gave him a glare before walking away.

He rolled his eyes. What a moody child. He thought to himself grumpily.

A long carpet was spread out onto the deck. It was covered in dishes after dishes. There was so much color and variety that Caroline's eyes began to water from the brightness. Matthew was by her side, his eyes watering as well but unlike Caroline it was for emotional reasons.

"So much beauty." He gasped out.

The first few minutes passed by awkwardly. No one spoke a word. The only noise uttered was the clicking of forks against plates. Elijah was too busy thinking about the meeting earlier. Kol was flexing his muscles. Rebekah and Elena watched Klaus and Caroline, expecting a riot, while Matthew and Finn enjoyed the food.

Caroline was only picking at the delicious meal. She wasn't hungry. Klaus looked to his side, where she sat. He picked up his goblet of wine and sipped from it. She sighed picking up a strange thing from a plate nearby. It claimed a shell and in it was a disgusting oily thing. Caroline grimaced. What in the world was it?

"Oyster." Klaus explained.

Caroline turned to him.

"Right." She said.

It didn't look particularly appetizing to her but she wanted to try it anyways. She picked up her fork and tried to plunge the teeth into the oyster meat. She groaned. It was too slimy it wouldn't remain on her fork for long. She even tried her spoon but it kept sliding off it too.

Everyone laughed. She glared before trying again and failed. She started to poke at it randomly.

"Heaven above!" she muttered. "How does one eat this?!"

Klaus chuckled before taking it away from her.

She turned her glare to him. "Give it back!"

"Calm down, lass!" he laughed. "Here, I'll show you."

He brought the shell towards her lips. She froze. He was going to feed her?!

Caroline parted her lips to accept the slimy delicacy. The foreign taste was unwelcoming making her grimace. She would have spat it out but she was too busy locking eyes with Klaus that she didn't notice her taste buds complaining. Klaus still held the shell to her lips, both staring into each other. Time seemed to freeze and the rest of the world disappeared. The only details Caroline truly recalled was the shell to her lips, the slime in her mouth and the intense gaze Klaus gave her. She swallowed the oyster with a gulp.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Matthew said laughing. The rest of those who dined with them were oblivious to the moment shared between the two. Kol had his head back as he laughed loudly.

"The look on your face was too amusing to behold!" he said, making everyone laugh even more.

Caroline stuck her tongue out playfully at him, making him grin.

Klaus smiled to himself as he looked back down at his plate. The aftermath of the moment still running through his veins.

"Nik."

Elijah stood up suddenly staring at the sea. He had a serious expression on his face. Klaus, Kol, Rebekah and Finn stood up too. The other three remained seated, too slow to comprehend.

They all watched a smaller ship pass by them. Klaus walked towards the railing, leaning on it as he glared at the crew members. They didn't notice the Mikaelsons at first, but then one of the men looked up to meet their glares.

The man jumped, horrified, he gave one quick glance at the name 'Golden Wolf'.

That was enough to make him fall to the floor. He disappeared from Klaus's sight, probably hiding behind the railing of his own ship.

Another sailor holding a barrel walked towards him to give him a questioning look. The fallen sailor peeked over the railing at them, pointing with tears in his eyes. The other looked with a calm expression before his eyes bulged at the Mikaelsons. Klaus waved at him in mock friendliness, making Rebekah and Kol laugh. He threw the barrel into the air with a surprised cry.

The entire ship went berserk as sailors cried and thrashed around. Some of the crew members even threw themselves into the sea.

The Mikaelsons smiled. The five pirates all stood side by side at the railing, smirking at the terrified sailors. Caroline had no doubt that the Golden Wolf was a dangerous name amongst sailors of the sea. If you see them, you sail the other way for dear life. She wondered what the Mikaelsons had to do in order to obtain such a dangerous reputation.

Once the ship turned to sail the other way, Klaus made his way back to dinner, a grin on his face. Finn whispered something into his ear with a laugh as he slapped his brother's back. Klaus smiled at his brother before sitting back down next to Caroline. What a scary bunch, the Mikaelsons. They obviously enjoyed the fear on the poor crew's face.

Elena smiled politely while Matthew laughed with the pirates. She noticed he was getting comfortable with them. Probably because Finn was his new celebrity infatuation.

"So, how long have you had this effect on people?" Elena asked, making conversation. She was obviously wondering how many years they had spent pirating.

The Mikaelsons's smiles turned sour as they regarded the question. In unison they looked down at their plates, waiting for someone else to answer. After a while Rebekah noticed no one volunteered.

"All our lives, really." She said, attempting a kind smile at the surprised Elena.

Caroline's brows furrowed. This was a sensitive subject, she realized.

"Do tell!" she taunted Klaus. "Ever since you were children?"

No one answered.

"Surely you had had a life before this!"

Still no reply.

"We don't remember much of it." Klaus answered with finality in his tone. He made it clear he did not wish to talk about the matter.

"Oh I do apologize! I'm touching an unwanted topic!" Caroline laughed humorlessly. He had done it again. Made her feel something she did not want to feel. She wanted to make him pay. She wanted revenge. "Surely there is nothing you are hiding?"

Klaus grabbed her upper arm and pulled her off the floor. Elena shrieked.

"Nik." Rebekah said warningly. "She did not mean it." even though she knew the girl did.

"Dinner is over for you. Get to the cabin. Now." He ordered. Caroline pulled her arm away from him before marching down to the lower deck, unfazed and unafraid of him.

Klaus stared at the food. He was no longer hungry. He brought a napkin to his lips, before throwing it onto the carpet.

"I'm off to bed." He said, standing up. He was halfway there when Elijah ran up to him.

"Brother."

"Not now, Elijah." He said, pushing him out the way.

"Niklaus. She doesn't know anything. Don't be harsh on her."

Klaus stopped, Elijah stepped before him.

"Please."

"I won't hurt her." Klaus reassured him.

"I know, but try and see it through her perspective. This is all new to her. She is only emotional."

"Probably because it's her time of month." He complained.

"Nik."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Merely jesting!"

Elijah looked down. After a while he gave Klaus a suspicious smirk.

"Oh mother of God, not you too!" he said turning away from Elijah, his head up at the sky. _Lord have mercy, _he thought to himself.

Elijah grinned. "I understand! This is human nature!"

"Elijah, spare me your philosophy just this one night. I want nothing to do with the girl. I would probably end up leaving her behind on a deserted land." And with that Klaus walked away angrily.

Elijah remained smiling at his brother. He highly doubted he would ever do such a thing. After all, it would be a fantastic change if she was able to soften him up.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:**

**I have changed the ratings! Just in case something(s) will happen ;)**

**Enjoy ;)**

* * *

_1694, Aboard an unnamed ship_

_The girl curled herself into a ball, hoping that that would make her unnoticeable. She was breathing heavily, shaking like a Chihuahua dog she had once seen at a festival. Her cold, frail breath trailed along her clutched hand, gripping the bed sheets. She wanted to rise and hide under her vanity, or under the bed. Anyplace where one cannot lay eyes on her. _

_But she couldn't move. She was frozen like a statue. A helpless twelve year old child waiting to be rescued._

"_You try n' fight me, boy?!"_

_She heard a gruff muffled voice say. The clashing of swords sounded again, making her wince into her sheets. A weird sound came from her, similar to a prey about to be eaten by a predator. That made her remember a time when her brother had chased a small fox from the chickens; it had attempted to prey on them. She remembered laughing giddily chasing after them expecting him to catch it to make a pet of it. Her mother had tried to stop her from following her eldest brother, but she refused to obey. Now, she regretted not listening, for he had thrown a dagger, mercilessly at it causing the fox to drop with a sickening thud. It was a sight that she had never learnt to shake off. And the worst part was that it had uttered a small sound before dying, a similar sound to the one she had but made._

_The memory paralyzed her further. It was probably going to be her last nightmare. She would not live to experience any other to replace it. _

_The door swung open with a loud bang as it hit the wooden, cabin wall. The harsh sun slapped her face, making her scream. She liked the dark, to her it was safety, a delusion she suffered with. A quiet girl who liked the dark: What a pathetic weakling. Suddenly a shadow came over her, shielding her from the light. She looked up to see who it was. One of her brothers? A rescuer? Her father by chance?_

_She was about to regard them with a smile when white hot shock possessed her. She was staring at an unfamiliar face._

_The face of a pirate._

_She opened her mouth about to scream, when his hand clashed down onto her face, covering not only her mouth but her nose as well. She couldn't breathe. The silent scream was meant to be unheard. As if fueling anger at herself, Adrenaline rushed through her, the instinct to survive kicking in. she shall not die! She shall not succumb to this pathetic way of ending her life! She thrashed around, refusing to go down without at least a fight, even if she was to lose. She stopped abruptly to feel a sick hand caress her belly. _

_He was touching her. _

_Bile rose up her throat. _

_No, please. No._

"_REBEKAH!"_

* * *

"Oh God!"

Rebekah cried out sitting up straight. Her chemise clung to her from the cold sweat, her mouth so dry she coughed. A shaking hand went to her hair, swiping it away from her eyes. With a frustrated growl she kicked her cupboard, making her books and oil lamp fall to the floor. She looked down at the mess angrily.

The nightmare had managed to evade her for over a month now. She had finally believed it was over. She thought she would never dream of that cruel memory again.

Damned she was, naive as hell. Should have known the past dreamless months were too good to be true. She got up, uncapped a barrel of water and poured shakily into her water basin. Cupping her hands, she brought some hovering over her head, letting the liquid slither past her ears and along her neck. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. Wondering what went so horribly wrong with her sleep. The nightmare usually visited her when something terrible had happened the morning before, or if an occurrence influenced her to remember it during daylight hours. Her eyes snapped open.

Caroline.

She had a brief flashback of Nik pushing the man off of her twelve year old self when she first laid eyes on Caroline. Not during the ball of course, but when she and her brothers invaded Beauty. Unlike Rebekah in her first encounter with a pirate Caroline was strong. She even had the guts to hold a sword, even though she looked ridiculous with it; probably never held a weapon in her life. Yet, Rebekah felt admiration and a pang of jealousy.

Courage like that was hard to find amongst women. Rebekah had to earn it, grow it. Caroline seemed to be born with it. She turned to stare at her reflection through the looking glass. Her hair still tangled up, her eyes red from the unshed tears. She looked fierce, and oh so vengeful.

That was it. She no longer cared if she betrayed Nik. She was going to do it.

With renewed determination, she put on breeches and a shirt she had taken from Kol. She had modified it so that it was like any other puffed out pirate shirt, but instead of flowing baggily over her stomach; it clung to her like second skin, showing off her curves from the breasts till her belt. She put on a pair of black boots, arranged her hair up and kept it locked with a piece of cloth.

She marched out her cabin door.

* * *

"How far are we from land?!"

"In another two days time, we shall see the shore!"

Kol yelled back. He was stationed at the highest castle of the ship, with a telescope at his eye.

Klaus lowered his head back down.

Two days time. Hellish they will be, stuck in the same cabin as that damned shrew. Even though she annoyed him to an extent that he wouldn't mind chucking her over board, he couldn't bring himself to do as he had threatened Elijah. He couldn't even send her off to Rebekah's cabin.

It was all for safety's sake, mind you. He needed to make sure she was out of harm. Not that he fancied her, but if something happened to the girl it would cause a great war with the Forbes and Malory family. Rolling his eyes he walked back to the lower deck.

He took out the map from his coat and obsessively went over it. He had spent the entire last night in his office, not getting a wink of sleep. He had to know where that filthy bloody...

Hold on a moment…

Klaus narrowed his eyes in bewilderment. This was not possible, he would have noticed! Right before his eyes, a pirate was about to enter his cabin. It was highly unlikely a ship full of pirates failed to see a small tiny man invade their ship, especially if these pirates were the Golden Wolf crew.

Klaus's face grew dark once he realized Caroline was in the cabin the pirate was trying to enter.

Quickly, without giving the stranger time to sense his presence. He grabbed the invader and swung him around, his sword out in a second, pressing sharply against the… _Rebekah's_ neck?

"Rebekah?!" Klaus exclaimed.

The female pirate pushed her brother's sword away with her own.

Klaus grew a murderous look as he harshly grabbed her.

"I've had enough of your ignorance, Nik." She said, squirming under Klaus's firm hand on her arm.

Klaus narrowed his eyes. Not letting go, "What, pray tell, do you mean, sister?"

He brought his face closer to hers, in a threat. He wasn't stupid. He knew what she was trying to achieve. He merely wanted to see if she had the guts to admit it to him. Rebekah slouched losing a bit of her early determination, proving Klaus to be correct.

He smiled humorlessly before pulling his sister along to her cabin. He pushed her in, closing the door behind him. He placed his face into his palm, as if trying to rid away a headache.

"She needs to learn how to fight." Rebekah began to pace her room, "This is absurd, Nik! You are lying to yourself if you think she can remain with us and be a lady at the same time! She has left her home, won't marry Malory, and won't be left on an island."

She stopped to look at her brother. He was watching her, listening with no expression on his face.

"She has no other choice but to be a pirate."

Klaus sighed, like he had discussed this too many times before, "Rebekah, I can't force something like that on her."

"Why not?! What's wrong with being a pirate?! I certainly enjoy it!" she retorted.

"Bekah, we didn't _choose_ to become pirates."

That made her stop. She looked at her brother disbelievingly. He walked up to her.

"I will teach her, once she chooses to learn. You and I both know this is not a life anyone would choose to have. The fights, the risks, the deaths of many on our hands. Once you become a pirate, always a pirate. it becomes your very soul. Do you wish to involve her with something she would regret later on?"

Klaus stopped in shock as a single tear escaped Rebekah's eyes. He quickly regretted his words.

"Bekah…"

"No, you're right, Nik. I was being selfish. I worry we get attacked one day and she will be…" she choked, humiliating herself. She hated looking weak.

"Rebekah, when was the last time you… dreamt?" he asked with a soft voice.

"Two minutes ago." she said.

Klaus squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to cast away the horrible memory that haunted even him. The man he saved his sister in time from was his first kill, after all.

He pulled his sister into an embrace, letting her sob all her frustration out. He smoothed her hair as he whispered, "I won't let anything happen to us, Caroline or her friends." He promised almost to himself.

Both, brother and sister remained like this for a while, until finally their daily duties called for them, reminding them how hard it was to truly leave the pirate life.

* * *

After a long day, Klaus walked in to his cabin to see the strangest sight.

Caroline was crouched down, scrubbing the floor. He sniffed in repulse. The room smelled disgustingly of vinegar.

"What the…" he trailed off. Caroline looked up at him with her usual glare.

"If I am going to stay stuck here for the rest of my life, I'd like my prison to be clean, thank you very much." She spat.

"Where the bloody hell did you-"

"Lord Finn was kind enough to grant me some." She answered, aware that he was referring to the bottle of vinegar by her side. She had actually asked Lord Finn for soap and water when she found him in the kitchen with Matthew. He had laughed politely before explaining to her the permanent damage she was about to cause to the wood.

She smiled smugly as she felt Klaus's surprised watching eyes. She ignored him with her head bent down, rubbing away at the floor. It was hard to shock him; he was a man who expected everything before_ anything_. Yet, this untamed woman was very unusual to him. It made him uncomfortable and slightly nervous. It was like owning a rabid dog.

Klaus groaned as he walked past her, falling onto the bed and making it bounce. Caroline looked up, rolled her eyes, before returning to her task.

He felt his body relax, glad to finally have some rest after days of non-stop worry and turmoil. He cursed himself for being so stupid; he should be as wide awake as possible, especially with everything that has been occurring.

After a few minutes the rough sounds of scrubbing itched at his ear.

He rolled onto his left side.

She was pouring more vinegar, loudly onto the floor. doing it on purpose, that little…  
she gave a loud noisy sigh.

Taking in a deep breath he was about to yell at her, when he was seized by a coughing fit.

"Something the matter, pirate?" she asked with a sickly sweet voice. He sat up to glare at her.

"What is that." cough "god awful smell?!"

"Petunias of course!" She cheerfully answered, scrubbing away happily.

"Petunias?!"

"Lord Elijah had given it to me, said it was Rebekah's." she feigned innocence as she held up a small purple bottle, "I have no clue as to why she left it at his disposal. I believe he told me she hated the smell and it made her want to retch. I could not have disagreed more. The smell is wonderful, don't you think?"

Klaus stared daggers into her eyes, making her shiver. She probably went too far, perfuming the pillows and sheets. She didn't mind the smell; she thought that if Rebekah had hated it, it was probably an allergic reaction to petunias. It was hereditary that he would as well. Unfortunately Klaus was not writhing on the floor with a swollen tongue. He let his back fall onto the stenched pillows.

"Wench." He muttered before closing his eyes.

She stared at his sleeping figure. Making sure he did not see her, she stuck out her tongue. _Bastard_, she thought to herself.

_An hour later,_

A small knock sounded at the door.

"Who is it?" Klaus called out, making Caroline jump.  
She thought he had fallen into a deep sleep, already!

"Elena, my lord." Came the muffled reply.

Klaus opened only one eye to look at Caroline who was still at the foot of the bed.

"Be a doll and answer that."

"It's your bloody door."

"It's your annoying friend."

She gasped, "How dare you, pirate!"

"Why don't you call me lord Klaus or Niklaus. It is quite offensive that you give that label to Finn and Elijah but not me." he said, pretending he was genuinely hurt.

It was true. She wasn't only under the influence of Klaus but all the Mikaelsons, as well. She just felt like she had a personal hatred toward the man. Not able to answer, she threw her drenched sponge at him. He barely managed to duck.

"You vixen!"

"If I am to get the door, you must leave Elena and I to our private matters."

"_My_ chamber, love."

"Then answer _your _door!"

Klaus ignored her and wrapped one arm over his eyes.

"Ugh! You're such an animal!" she yelled at him.

"Most woman tell me that, but with a different tone of voice." He replied uninterestedly.  
She blushed furiously. This was no way to speak to someone who was innocent as she!

"Caroline, I'm not getting any younger." Elena called out. Groaning she went to open the door, inviting Elena in.

"Finally, what was all the commotion about?!" she asked exasperatedly. She froze seeing Klaus sleeping on the bed. Her mouth fell open as she turned to Caroline. 'Oh' she mouthed. Caroline pushed her out the door, leaving Klaus alone in his chamber.

"Why does it smell like petunias and vinegar in there?" Elena asked once they were on the upper deck, marveling under the soft sun. They were finally out of ear shot.

"I was cleaning."

Elena's eye brows went up at that. She had never heard her friend utter those words.

"Anyways, never you mind. Why did you come calling?"Caroline changed the subject.

"I thought I'd check whether you were still alive or not. Where were you this morn?"

Caroline looked away, letting her eyes roam over the endless stretch of sea. She sighed. "I wasn't hungry."

The two girls walked towards their favorite spot. Elena unfolded the blanket she held underneath her arm. She laid it onto the floor. They proceeded to sit on it. Their pirate attire was very comfortable; had they worn those god awful tightly fitted clothes now they would have never survived the heat. They sent a silent thank you to Rebekah. Caroline looked around noticing the female pirate and Elijah talking to one another. He held a map, while she spoke, gesturing across the sea.

"Caroline, what has been troubling your mind as of late?" Elena asked, breaking her train of thought.

She rolled her eyes, "Other than my life is officially over and I have become a possible fugitive, roaming around the world with pirates who seek my absolute misery? I feel fabulous."

Elena smacked her friend's arm, "You know what I mean."

She sighed looking away, "I miss her, mother."

Elena cocked her head to the side, feeling the same thing. After all, Elizabeth had treated Elena as if she were a daughter as well.

"Matthew and I do as well."

"I want to return to her. Not to England or father or my ordinary life. I just want to return to _her_. She must be sick with worry, planning a search party as we speak. I can't just leave her searching for me with a sick heart while I stay here enjoying a lovely cruise." Caroline spat the last part out with remorse.

Elena put a reassuring hand over hers, "I shall speak to Lord Elijah about this. I'll ask him if we can return to England in secret and bring your mother along."

Caroline smiled, "She would love that wouldn't she? To stay away from father as much as possible?"

Elena laughed. "Probably."

Caroline watched her friend. Suddenly noticing she had mentioned Elijah like mentioning a friend rather than a kidnapper.

"Speaking of which, since when do you associate yourself with Lord Elijah?"

Elena opened her mouth about to answer when she noticed the expression on Caroline's face. The blonde had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Caroline!"

"What?!"

"I only talk to him! There is nothing much to do on a ship for weeks other than socialize!" she added defensively.

"Do you socialize with Kol, or Finn? What about Rebekah?"

"Rebekah, yes. Kol is too busy staring at his reflection in my eyes. And Finn, well he is too busy entertaining Matthew."

Caroline nodded in agreement, "By the way, what on earth is wrong with that boy?!"

"Matthew?" Elena laughed, "It seems he has finally met his match. All they talk about is food, really."

Caroline laughed, letting her back lean against the railing.

They remained conversing for hours and hours, reliving their moments they used to have in Mystic Falls. The two had finally accepted their fate. It was easy to do having each other for support. After a while, Matthew came along to join them, he had a tray on one hand filled with cakes of all sorts. Caroline jumped; now that she had talked to Elena, some of that dead weight on her shoulder was lifted, making her lighthearted once more.

"Oh good, I am starving." She said, grabbing a fruit cake and stuffing it into her mouth.

Matthew sat down, unfazed by his friend's animalistic appetite. He knew Caroline well enough to know she had the stomach of a grizzly bear.

"Did you hear?" he said, as he helped himself to a cake.

"Hear what?" Elena said, the only person who did not have a full mouth.

"Finn told me that the ship diverted from its usual path."

Caroline stopped chewing, snapping her head at Matthew as he continued, "Apparently we were supposed to go to Spain, but now we are heading to an island nearby. Do you know what the best part is?" He paused for only a second, a smirk on his face, "It's _their _island. Can you believe it? The Mikaelsons have their own bloody island." Matthew gave a hearty chuckle, shaking his head in amazement.

Caroline rolled her eyes. They probably stole it from its native people, mercilessly. Had their men killed, their woman skinned. Their children raped… villages burned down to nothing but ash, Bodies and bodies lying around waiting for preying birds to eat them up for lunch…

"Caroline?" Elena asked slowly. She had a murderous look on her face that worried the brunette.

Caroline shook away the expression before adopting a sardonic one, "So what if they have their own island?"

"I heard it wasn't their only one." Matthew added, completely smitten with the pirate family.

Caroline glared at him, "Why don't you just marry Finn and relieve us all."

Matthew stuck out his tongue at her in response, "No need to be vile." He said.

"Am I interrupting anything?" came a musical voice.

Everyone turned to find Rebekah; she held a charming smile, hair blowing in the wind. She looked beautiful and relaxed, yet Caroline noticed something in the blonde's eyes, whenever she turned to look her in the eye. Like she was trying to hold back from saying something. Caroline wondered what bothered the warrior.

"No, not at all." Elena answered, politely.

"Well I just thought I'd let you know, we will be seeing the island shortly. I would ask you to make sure all your belongings are ready for the shift, but then again I remember Beauty. She_ is_ following us, so don't you worry."

"Thank you." Caroline answered. Rebekah gave a curt nod before walking away.

"I can't wait to see how big it is!" Matthew said, moving around in his seat, restlessly.

"I thought Finn already showed it to you." Caroline answered with a smirk causing Elena to laugh out loud. He simply glared.

* * *

_After three or four more hours..._

"LAND FAR AHEAD!"

Caroline and Elena squealed looking up at the outburst.

Kol was on a castle; he jumped onto its railing and grabbed a rope letting himself fall of the tallest post. It was a long way down; if he hit the ground he would surely die. Elena screamed, covering her eyes with her hands. She didn't have to worry, though, for he smoothly let the rope's friction stop him from accelerating towards instant death. He landed on his two feet, with a cocky smirk. The movement was as graceful as can be. Probably done it a thousand times.

"Excellent." Came another voice Caroline knew too well. She groaned as she turned her gaze towards the cabins, out came Klaus looking like he had departed sleep and went back to his office. That man could never rest when he was stressed out.

_Why didn't he choke to death from the petunias, god, why? _

She was busy thinking of other methods that would cause his mysterious death when she heard Elena gasp. She looked up at her friend, who was gazing at something behind her, the brunette had stood up. Matthew had the same dazed expression. She turned to see what mesmerized them, when her breath hitched in her throat.

She stood up, too, very carefully as if preventing any sudden movements would help keep her transfixed.

Beautiful was the first word that ran through her mind. Impossible was the next; how can a family of five own such a grand, huge, breath taking Island? It was topped with a healthy looking forest, greener than green. Colors were splattered here and there, indicating wildlife and thousands of different kinds of rosaries.

Caroline sighed, letting the scene fade her troubles away. The different shades of blue of the shore created a calm, peaceful mood within her. She wouldn't mind staring at it all day long.

"Do you like it?" came a soft voice next to her.

Caroline dragged her eyes away to only land on Klaus's hopeful expression.

She simply nodded, unable to speak. Never in her life had she experienced such beauty.

Klaus gave a nod back before turning away. "Unload the cargos! Finn, signal to the crew on Beauty to do the same!" He began to yell out orders as the entire ship went on with their business. The three teens remained as they were.

As the island grew larger and more defined, Elena, Caroline and Matthew began to notice the small details about it. They laughed as they pointed out to each other the wonders their eyes met, eager to finally set foot on the little piece of heaven.

A harbor appeared. It wasn't as big as the one at mystic falls, and wasn't as skillfully built either. The people of the island rarely ever met ships. It made Caroline feel a sense of security. No pirate would ever dare to come near here with the Golden Wolf there. Strangely enough, another ship was docked at the harbor. It was smaller than theirs. Very light brown and handsome looking.

Caroline squinted to see two figures standing at the nearest dock. As the ship drew nearer, she began to notice the features of men. One was leaning a hand against a pole, with a cocky smirk.

He had dark hair, tanned skin and was very well built. Caroline noticed the piercing crystal blue of his eyes. He was very much handsome. Next to him another man stood straight, his arms crossed. His face was very different from the older looking man, much kinder and softer. He, instead, claimed light brown hair and piercing grayish green eyes. He wore a soft kind smile as he regarded the ship. Caroline instantly knew he was the nicer of the two; the older reminded her disturbingly of Kol.

Klaus grabbed onto the railing as he grinned at them. She noticed he was really glad with their presence.

"Stefan! Damon! A pleasure to see you two." He shouted out to them.

The dark haired man stepped forward, bowing dramatically, "The pleasure is ours, Klaus!"

"Enjoying your stay?"

"Absolutely." Said the other.

The older looked to Caroline, earning himself a glare. She positively knew she was going to have trouble liking this one.

"And what do we have here?!" he asked, eyebrows raised. He looked to Klaus with a wink. "It seems you have been enjoying yourself more than we have."

Klaus grinned, walking away from Caroline towards the wooden board that was connecting the ship to the dock. He walked along it expertly without falling into the sea bellow. Caroline looked down, the water was shallow but not too shallow that the ship would have trouble maneuvering. She groaned. It would be wonderful had he fallen off and drowned. Highly unlikely that was, since he probably knew how to swim.

She heard a horn sound, next to the Golden Wolf, Beauty stopped as well. A sailor aboard it saluted to Rebekah with a smile. She grinned back, with a nod. It seems she had made them comfortable with the new arrangements. Who would ever turn Rebekah away, disappointed, after all?

Caroline watched as Klaus gave the modest one a big brotherly embrace. The other walked towards the wooden board, Rebekah on it.

"Damon." She forced out.

"Rebekah." He answered, with an easy grin. He was about to step forward and give Rebekah a hug when she backed away holding out her palm. In it lay purple powder Caroline knew too well. It was the same powder the Mikaelson woman had used to sedate her.

"I _will _use this." She warned.

Damon chuckled raising his hands up in defeat.

The three tried to remain balanced as they walked along the wooden board. Elijah had to hold onto Elena to prevent her from falling off. The men who were steering Beauty came along to carry off the cargo. Sailors walked to and fro the Golden Wolf carrying barrels and chest vaults.

Caroline stumbled around about to fall from the sudden change of balance. Thankfully, Elijah caught her. She murmured a thank you, before she tried to regain posture, once more. After spending weeks on board, one's balance changes magnificently to accommodate the movement of the ship. Now they had to adjust to the new change.

Elijah ushered the three teens towards Klaus and the others gently.

"Caroline, Elena, Matthew. These fine men are the Salvatore brothers. Dear friends to us. You can trust them with anything." Elijah introduced.

"Brothers?! They're nothing alike!" Caroline asked in bewilderment. Elena elbowed her friend in the ribs.

Klaus chuckled.

"As you can see, this untamed one here is Lady Forbes of Mystic Falls. We had a little… arrangement if you will. Nothing too exciting, although that story will be told soon." Klaus chuckled.

Everyone snickered. Caroline glared.

"Let us all proceed to the house as the men continue their work."

* * *

The house was small but very, very pretty. It was only built to accommodate a small family.

Situated in the best area, it wasn't too far into the island that they needed carriages and at the same time the greenery covered it, so that a ship from afar would not notice it. The Salvatores stopped, not entering the house with the rest.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we shall part ways." Damon explained. "We will come back in time for breakfast tomorrow morn, though. There is a lot to catch up on." He added with a wink. Stefan nodded in agreement.

"Glad to see you all. Nik, I'm assuming you wouldn't mind visiting the pub before you head off to bed."

"Oh I don't think so; it has been a long day after all. Tomorrow sounds peachy. "

"How long are you staying?"

Klaus looked down with a chuckle, clearly unable to answer. He looked back up at the two brothers with one word, "long."

In unison their eyebrows rose. The Mikaelsons rarely ever stayed in one place for more than a week. There was definitely something exceptional occurring. Stefan made a note to ask his good friend later about it.

Once the Salvatores departed on their own ways, the Mikaelsons entered their home. Caroline looked around. It was a beautiful small entrance hall decorated with marvelous paintings of the island itself. It made her wonder whether one of the Mikaelsons had painted them. She looked to Klaus. He stifled a yawn. Those two hours of sleep weren't enough.

They ascended the wooden flight of stairs, which was quickly met with a long corridor. Only five doors were found. It seemed that these were the only rooms of the mansion. This pirate family rarely ever had guests about causing them to turn their guest rooms into offices. Finn went into the first door, Kol was about to go to the second before stopping.

"Matthew, how about you follow me, I've got two beds. One I use while the other is for my many women." Matthew grimaced as If he had a sour taste in his mouth.

"Alright." He mumbled.

Elijah took the third.

"Goodnight to all." he smiled before closing the door behind him.

Rebekah beckoned the two girls to her own large chamber.

"My bed is large enough for us, I like the luxury of wide mattresses covered in dozens of pillows, something my brothers make fun of all the time" She sighed, making Elena giggle.

"I hope it is to your liking." She added.

Caroline did not care if the chamber housed a dragon. As long as the room separated her from Klaus, she was good to go. Quickly as if worried Klaus would start to think of something evil, she aimed, full speed at the door.

Unfortunately, he grabbed her Spanish dress.

"Whoa there, lass! Having wild thoughts, now aren't we?"

"UGH!" she stomped, turning to Klaus. "What excuse do you have this time?!" she screamed into his face.

"Rebekah only has one bed, if you don't recall her saying with your thick mind. I don't think it will be able to hold three women."

"I'll sleep on the floor."

"Don't be ridiculous." He growled, rolling his eyes. He pulled Caroline to the fifth door. Elena gave an apologetic look before following Rebekah.

Once the door was shut, Caroline rounded on him.

"You. Are. A. devil!" she screeched.

"Again, something else women tell me quite often." He said, smirking. He was clearly enjoying her discomfort.

To make it even worst, he took off his shirt, readying himself for bed. Caroline hastily looked away, to stare out the window. It was still broad day light.

"Why on earth are we sleeping now? It is still morn." She grumbled, refusing to look at Klaus as she spoke.

"The sun sets at very late hours on this island." Klaus replied softly. He stifled another yawn. He lit a candle before falling onto the bed.

"Be a darling and draw the curtains in." he ordered.

"Stupid bastard. Inconsiderate fool. Only thinks of himself." Caroline muttered to herself as she did what she was told. The long material draped over the balconied window, causing the room to become as dark as it would during the night. The only light came from the sole candle Klaus had lit.

Caroline walked towards the bed and cuddled into it, making sure she was far away from him as much as possible. Klaus rolled onto his right side giving her his bare back (which was difficult not to stare at).

She yawned, noticing how exhausted she was herself.

She suddenly sat up straight, refusing to sleep just yet. A question burned in her brain, bugging her until she finally let it out.

"Why are we here? Why didn't we continue our way to Spain like you had planned?"

Klaus tensed at that, opening his eyes. Caroline looked at his back, unable to see his expression.

"Never you mind, the reason." He replied sternly.

They remained quiet after a while, the candle light flickering causing shadows to dance on the wall before Caroline. She watched them, sleepily, the drowsiness taking over. Klaus kept his eyes opened, the question still bothering him.

"Will you ever tell me the reason?"

He sighed, finally having to sit up. The two sat there, Caroline staring at the wall in front of her while he stared at her.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Caroline."

"Satisfaction brought it back, pirate."

He smirked at her. She finally looked at him.

"We are just laying low for a while, that is all that I can say, I'm afraid."

Caroline nodded, too tired to ask for more information.

Klaus was about to lie back down onto his back when she spoke.

"I miss my mother, Klaus."

He tensed again, the words were filled with deep sorrow and longing. She had also said his name without hatred for the first time. He quite liked the way it rolled off her tongue.

She looked at him sadly, trying to stifle yet another yawn. Too sleepy to really function, she asked the most astonishing of questions.

"Do you miss _your _mother?"

Klaus froze. A cruel coldness ran down his spine. He snapped his head at her, wondering if she asked the question to disturb him on purpose. The light from the small flame played with her facial features a bit. She had her eyes shut as if she was imagining the tender caress of her mother's fingers.

Klaus smiled bitterly as she lay onto her back, bringing the bed sheets over her exposed shoulders while he thought to himself, still frozen.

He smiled at her, relaxing.

"Yes." He answered to no one in particular. "I really do."

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you sooooooo much to those who reviewed, favorited and followed Lovers At Sea. I can't even begin to tell you how much you wonderful people keep making my days better. Do, keep up the encouragement! Also this track probably presents the whole feel of the story and where it is heading: Intro by the xx (which i discovered through missdarklycute on tumblr 3)**

**So without further ado,**

**Enjoy, my lovelies ;)**

* * *

Chapter 7:

1700, Mikaelsons' island IV

The candlelight had stopped flickering a few hours ago, leaving Klaus to stare at where his ceiling used to be. Everything was pitch black including the very corners of his brain that was poisoned by his latest nightmare.

It was a scream. That was it. A high pitched cry into the night that left him shivering and empty.

A small body pressed to his side, as if sensing his distress. It was warm and oh so soft. He looked to the figure with a knowing smile. Caroline had herself up against his arm, leaving a trail of warmth from his shoulders down to his knee where one of her legs tangled with his. He didn't care to scoot away. Her unconscious touch calmed him greatly.

She mumbled something about fruit cakes.

He softly chuckled, not wanting to disturb her sleep.

Reluctantly, he untangled their legs and got up, running his hands through his hair a few times. He opened the door to his other private chamber that was connected to the bedroom.

In the middle a wooden tub lay large enough to fit three people. He remembered how he and his many women would share it. However, it was now covered in dust having not been used for months now. He sighed. It was good to be back after a long time. It was one if his favorite islands that the Mikaelson family owned. Then again, they owned around nine islands.

He made a note to himself to go to the village today and hire housekeepers. It was highly unlikely that he was going to clean up after himself and his siblings.

He walked towards the corner of the room and trailed a finger along the wallpaper. It was very fine material, the finest you can buy. But it was slowly withering away. He tsked.

The house was truly in dire need of replenishing.

He suddenly heard someone faintly curse as wood creaked against wood. He chuckled to himself as he walked back towards the bedroom to see what was going on. By opening the door, sunlight from the washing room drifted onto the bed. It was still dawn, so the sun wasn't at its full effect, but it was enough for Klaus to see the bed empty, and Caroline clutching at her toe on the floor, the bedside table askew.

He tried not to laugh at her expression, but she saw right through him.

"Damn those drapes, don't you have lighter ones. Ones that don't actually suck every once of light in this chamber?!" she growled, sitting back down on the bed.

Klaus scratched his nose to cover his smirk. He couldn't remember the last girl that entertained him by the smallest, silliest things that she did, in fact Klaus _knew _that he had never met one like Caroline. She made everything so much more entertaining.

He crouched down to her injured feet, making her catch her breath at the proximity. He trailed his fingers across her ankle. She trembled, though it wasn't cold at all.

"A mere stubbed toe, you'll be fine." He said smirking at her. He straightened up and walked towards the curtains, undraping them. She slapped her hands onto her lap. _Okay… shake it off Caroline_, she thought to herself.

"So what are we going to do today? Kill village people's children?" she asked with mock enthusiasm.

He laughed, "Kill children?"

"Yes, isn't that what you pirates do for fun? Terrorize people and such."

He looked down snickering, "You really have the wrong idea about my profession."

"right." She muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Actually I think visiting the market wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"So there _are _people who live here. Do they like the fact that you own them like slaves?"

Klaus put down one of the decorative ornaments he was studying back, onto a coffee table in frustration. He let out a sigh.

"Why do you always have to be so bloody sardonic about everything?" he growled.

"I'm a captive. What else am I supposed to do? Sing and dance a toddler's rhyme? I'm afraid that's not going to happen anytime soon."

He rolled his eyes. "I like you best fast asleep. Yet, even when you are unconscious you never fail to cause me irritation."

Caroline's jaw fell in shock. How rude!

"Fowl man!" she called after him as he left his chamber.

Klaus shut the door behind him. At times she could be absolutely annoying.

"Nik!"

He turned to find his sister in much more ladylike clothes. Even though the Mikaelsons were pirates and dressed according to comfort and intimidation, when they landed they preferred the normal attire. Although they did make sure it was still comfortable not like the stiff clothes back in England. Rebekah still wore a Spanish dress, but this one trailed to her feet and had long sleeves. It was also a light green rather than her usual choice of black and red. Klaus looked down at his breeches. He was still bare-chested.

"I need a change."

She nodded. "Yes, you do. Here. Kol has extra shirts."

Klaus took one and put it on.

"There, all ready. I believe we need to pay the village a visit." He said.

"Already got that covered. We had some extra food aboard the ship. I'll take them along with us and distribute them to the people."

Klaus nodded. Contrary to Caroline's belief the Mikaelsons were the best thing that had ever happened to the island. They always brought back food, medicine and other necessities from around the world. In quantities that could last the poor people years. Before their arrival the entire place was plagued with disease and despair.

They brought life to the land.

"Niklaus." another voice called out.

Elijah walked towards his two siblings.

"Breakfast is ready. Finn would slice off my ear if we did not taste his food."

Klaus and Rebekah chuckled, knowing Finn; Elijah wasn't far off from the truth.

"Very well" Klaus said, "I'll inform Caroline. You two go ahead."

The two walked away, while he entered the chamber.

* * *

Caroline was holding out Klaus's sword she found on a table nearby. She aimed it at the wall, shaking a bit. Absolute fear etched on her face, along with determination.

On the wall, the biggest spider was crawling around, probably the size of her head. Caroline tried to keep her stomach as she aimed at it again. Closing her eyes, too afraid to see the gore of her task, she hit it.

"Hiya!" she cried out. After a while, she opened an eye to take a look. The spider still lounged on the wall.

"Really?!" she gasped out in frustration. She completely missed! She did more harm to the wall paper than she did to the disgusting creature. She grimaced at the long, dented line she had caused. Woops.

The door suddenly opened causing her to jump and point at the intruder instead.

Klaus raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"And what are you trying to accomplish?"

"Ugh." She said, putting the sword down once she realized it was only Klaus. She pointed at the abomination on the wall.

"I am trying to kill this… this beast!"

"Beast?" he chuckled. He walked to her, "Give me that thing before you injure yourself."

She shoved the sword at him, "You do it yourself if you're so smart."

He looked at her. "If you slice it open, you will infect the entire room with a horrible smell."

Caroline gulped. Yuck.

He smirked as he lent out the tip of the sword to the spider. It crawled at top it. After making sure it stayed put he walked past Caroline (who shrieked away) and darted it out the window.

"There, it will crawl away back into the forest where it came from." He said, taking out a cloth from a chest vault he wiped the tip of his weapon.

"No need to squeal like a little girl." He laughed, shaking his head. He stopped at the doorway, "Oh and breakfast is ready." He shut the door leaving Caroline to glare at it with narrowed eyes. She shook her head. Good job on making a fool of yourself, Caroline.

* * *

Caroline closed the door behind her after changing. She stopped dead in her tracks; she had no idea where the dining room was.

"Great. Very smart, Klaus." She mumbled walking aimlessly to where she remembered they first came through.

As she was descending the stairs she bumped into someone who was going up. She was about to fall down the steps when an arm went around her waist.

"Careful, little one!"

Caroline looked up to see Finn. He chuckled.

"I was actually on my way to see whether or not you were going to have breakfast. Kol is also still fast asleep."

"Oh I was just heading towards the dining room, would you, uhm, explain to me where it is?" she asked hesitantly, hating the embarrassment that followed.

He laughed. "Right across the entrance hall to the left. Now if you'll excuse me. I am going to _try _and wake my brother up." he smiled before walking away.

Caroline watched the gentlemanly Finn walk up the stairs, she gave an approving nod.

Huh, she pondered to herself, why on earth was Klaus the only annoying one of his siblings? The others to Caroline were perfect! And then there was Kol, but for his young age it was expected to be rather cocky. She didn't have to remember Finn's directions since the loud laughter that echoed through the mansion led her.

She was met with the large dining hall. The walls were mainly of glass, exposing the forests and a small village a few kilometers away. She gasped. It was like breakfasting in the woods itself. The glassed wall took up the entire room. The dining table was just as long topped with fresh food. She had never seen such infrastructure before. A house made of glass and rich wood.

Her stomach grumbled.

"Ah, Caroline, do join us!" Elijah called to her. Caroline studied everyone. Klaus was sitting at the head of the table (of course, what would you expect with such a dominating man, Caroline thought with a roll of her eyes) on either side of him Elijah and Rebekah sat. Next to Rebekah Elena, Matthew and then an empty seat, supposedly Finn's. On the other side of the table Elijah sat beside Klaus. Next to him were two empty seats and then Stefan Salvatore, who gave her a nod with a smile. She smiled back.

Nice man.

On the other head of the table sat Damon Salvatore (another obviously dominating man). He wiggled his eyebrows as he gave her a seductive wave. Her smile departed her face. Fowl man.

Caroline chose the seat right next to Elijah.

"Please, help yourself." Elijah gestured at the food politely. Caroline smiled before looking up at Klaus. He was drinking blood red wine from a goblet as he locked eyes with her. She quickly looked away only to land her gaze on Elena.

"We are going to the village!" she said excitedly. Caroline raised her eyebrows at her eager friend. Sometimes she wondered whether or not her friends have forgotten they were captives and not guests to the Mikaelsons.

"I heard." She answered, glaring at Klaus as if he was to be accused. He smirked. Looking down at his food.

"I can't be patient! Apparently we get free goods!"

"Of course, dear. You're with us. They won't mind at all." Rebekah chimed.

Elena grinned at Rebekah before turning to Caroline again.

"Free. Goods. God, this is great." Elena said shaking her head at how lucky she was. Caroline wanted to hang herself.

She was munching on a muffin and staring at the view of the glass wall before her, when Kol appeared at the doorway.

"What'd I miss?" he said, smugly. Although Caroline did not think he had anything to be smug about. Behind him Finn appeared, the tip of his sword pressing against Kol's back. _He _smiled very smugly indeed.

Damon laughed loudly earning himself a glare from the Mikaelson who went to sit beside Caroline.

"This is priceless." He said as he wiped a tear away.

"Amused are you, Salvatore?" Kol retorted bitterly.

Damon winked at him, "Very."

"I can tear you to pieces."

"I can drown you in a bath tub."

"You can't even help yourself when a girl renders you unconscious with purple powder!"

"Why you little…"

"Stefan, mate." Klaus started, irritated with the bickering. He discarded his fork and knife onto his plate with a loud clank. "Control your poor excuse of a brother. I can only handle him for so long."

Stefan turned to Damon, slapping the back of his neck.

Caroline laughed out. She now clearly noticed the Mikaelsons only tolerated Damon for Stefan's sake. She was not at all surprised.

The men went silent as they stared at Caroline as she musically giggled away. She gave a few nervous laughs, noticing the attention until she cleared her throat and remained silent.

Rebekah then laughed.

"What a girl." She said. After a while everyone began to join in.

"So, Caroline. Nik told us all about you, Malory and Beauty. What are your comments?" Stefan asked.

It took her a while to find the correct adjective to describe the feeling she had towards the whole arrangement.

"Nauseating." She finally declared. Everyone snorted except Klaus who raised his eyebrows.

"Do you wish to find yourself at the old man's disposal?" he asked.

"No." she muttered.

"Excellent. So the adjective you're looking for is grateful."

She rolled her eyes.

"By and by, please hurry up. We need to get to the market while it is still morn. No need to suffer the horrendous crowd of the afternoon. Don't want to lose anyone, now do we?" he said, looking particularly at Caroline's direction. She stared daggers, clearly understanding the threat behind his tone. She wasn't going anywhere near a chance at running away. She wouldn't be shocked if he had her roped with a canine's leach.

* * *

"Not crowded? How is this not crowded?" Caroline complained.

They still had not reached the village but the body of people could be seen from afar.

"Trust me when I say this is not crowded." Kol whispered into her ears, it was obvious he didn't like this anymore than she did.

"Lord Niklaus!" a woman cried out as they entered the small village. She appeared out of the crowd, holding a basket filled with clothes of all the same ragged texture. She was tanned and had graying hair, yet Caroline was stunned by how beautiful she was. She had lush lips, and eyes that were fierce. She wasn't young, she knew that for sure. She seemed to be 40 yet she looked too gorgeous for her age.

She walked up to Klaus and kissed him on the cheek tenderly, earning a smile from the man.

"How is Annabel, pearl?" he asked.

"Very great, although we still need some of that potion. Many people have gone sick again." She said with a hollow voice. That woman has probably gone through hell.

"All here, dear." Rebekah said with a barrel in her arms.

"Excellent! Come. I shall lead you to the sick." She said. Rebekah followed suit, dutifully.

Someone tugged at Caroline's sleeves.

"Look!"

Elena pulled her friend to a man who sat on the ground. Before him on the floor, dozens of jewelry were laid out, beckoning buyers to him. Caroline looked over the bracelets. Each was more beautiful than the next that she felt dizzy trying to choose which stood out the most. Another hand pulled her away from the huddled group. She stumbled till she met Klaus's disapproving glare.

"Stay near." He ordered.

Caroline was about to kick his shin, when Stefan stepped to her side.

"Unnerving, isn't he?" he whispered.

"Is he always like this?" she asked him as they began to walk behind Klaus who picked up a batch of wallpaper samplings.

"Can't remember a time when he wasn't." Stefan laughed, but then he sobered up. "No, I've seen him in better moods. He is just a tad too careful these days, with all that's been happening."

Caroline suddenly remembered the night before. Klaus still hadn't told her what they were lying low from. She stole a sideways glance at the Salvatore. She then cleared her throat and decided to play along.

"Yes, yes, it is unfortunate. I hope he finds it soon."

Stefan gave her a surprised look. "So you know?"

"I know everything about it." Caroline confirmed.

"Right. So what do you think we should do?" he said, stopping right in front of her and preventing her from walking onwards. She staggered.

"What… what do I think?"

Stefan nodded, amused, "What action do you see fit?"

She opened her mouth about to answer when something attacked her legs and glued them together. She shrieked, looking down.

A mud covered child looked up at her with big brown eyes. The little boy was grinning with joy. Caroline looked around, to see if his parents were anywhere nearby. Finding no distressed couple, she crouched down to match the boy's height.

"Where is your mother?" Caroline asked tenderly.

"They don't speak our tongue." Stefan chuckled. "Spanish is their mother language."

"Do you speak it?"

He shrugged smiling down at the two.

Very helpful, the blonde thought bitterly.

"Venir, princesa." The little boy said, before dragging Caroline along to wherever. She looked over her shoulder at Stefan who merely followed. He wasn't going to give Klaus any reason to yell at him for leaving her on her own. The boy led them through a venue of little huts and cattle. Smoke from the many bushels of firewood fogged Caroline's vision. The little boy was her only means of direction. She watched as some ragged clothed women stopped their chores to look up at her. She was a blonde after all, a strange sight the people have never seen except on Lady Rebekah. If she resembled their savior, they instantly took a liking in her.

As if a wisp of wind brought it to her, a musical note caught her ear. She stopped struggling against the child's pull, allowing the boy to take her to a wide opening of space. She looked around at the many people. They were crowded in the center of the opening, moving along harmoniously as if a beat guided their course of movement. They were dancing, to Caroline's delight. She searched the source of the music and found three men. One of them was older than the other two, beard as pale as parchment and teeth yellowing away. Nevertheless, he held a soft kind smile.

The two beside him were fine looking boys, probably his sons. Each man held an instrument in their hands. The two boys had flutes, while the man had a guitar. These instruments were foreign to Caroline, but she couldn't care less. It made her want to dance with the townspeople.

"Princesa!" the little boy, still holding her hand cried out.

Everyone, to her absolute dismay, stopped dancing. They turned to stare at Caroline, making her uncomfortable and self conscious. She never worked well with crowds, the Lockwood ball proved it.

"Hello?" she said with a small voice, after the silence became deafening. Her voice was lower than she had wanted it to be, failing to cut through the sudden tension.

An old woman walked up to her with distaste. She was shorter than Caroline, but that didn't make her seem any less scary. She rose up onto her toes and brought her face too close to Caroline's, without a single wink.

Caroline gulped.

"Princesa!" the woman cried out, into her face. With a flap of her arms and a huge grin. Caroline smiled back with a grimace before the woman pulled her too roughly to the crowd.

Stefan laughed, reminding her he was still present.

"Help!" she yelped, as one man took her into his arms and began twirling her till she went dizzy.

The Salvatore smiled at her. Instead of stopping the crowd and saving her, he let a woman take his hand and lead him to the dance. He joined in quickly, as if he had danced this upbeat and lovely tradition before.

Caroline's eyes widened at his betrayal.

"Son of a… Whoa!"

She was silenced as the man twirled her faster. Caroline shut her eyes as tight as possible, waiting for the dance to end. After a few minutes, it still continued.

"When is this going to stop." She muttered.

"It doesn't!" Stefan chirped to her, as he swung by before disappearing again.

"Enjoy, Princesa." Her partner said with a very thick accent. She opened her eyes to see the old man. He was tall yet chubby, reminding her of Matthew's chef father who was a nice jolly man. The resemblance calmed her massively.

She smiled hesitantly as she tried to accommodate to the fast paced dance. After a while, she gave a little giggle. The wind played with her hair. She twirled and twirled and twirled, letting the music take her away. Her heart beat faster while her breathing grew shallow and rapid. It was exhilarating.

She gave a yelp of surprise as all the dancers suddenly switched partners.

"See? It isn't as bad as you had anticipated!" She looked at her partner who turned out to be no other than Stefan himself.

"Right." She said with a huge grin, "Let's see how fast you can trot, Salvatore."

* * *

"What do you think, Stefan?" Klaus said. He held a sample he really liked. It was a strange, yet lovely, blue color he couldn't help but feel like he had seen the exact shade before. After a while, he noticed his friend did not answer.

"Stefan?" he asked again, a little bit irritated. He looked up to see no sign of his pal… and Caroline.

He gave the sample back to its owner, as he looked around with a murderous gaze.

"That bloody fool." He muttered as he marched away from the seller and further into the market, searching for his mate and captive.

It took him a while till he found the dancing people. He searched amongst them for a familiar face. It wasn't long before he finally caught sight of the two trotting away. She held a huge smile he had never seen before. He watched as Stefan said something that made her laugh out. A surge of anger rose within him. How come she is so easily pleased with other men? Is he too fowl she couldn't even spare him a polite glance?

"Stefan!" he yelled out. The Salvatore stopped, making Caroline protest.

"Too tired, Salvatore? I thought you knew this one!" she teased him.

"I know it by heart, don't flatter yourself. But I do believe something wicked this way comes." He said as he pulled her to Klaus.

"Oh, dear lord." She said, rolling her eyes.

The Mikaelson gritted his teeth as he studied the blonde. What part of 'stay near' was too hard for her to understand?!

Although he was furious, he couldn't help but feel the negative emotion fading away as he studied Caroline. She had a happy glow on her face, a blush coloring her cheeks pink. Her lips were a lovely red as they pursed.

She was enjoying herself, before he intruded. Klaus sighed, despite himself he felt guilty for stopping the dance.

"No time for fun, love. We need to get going." He said grabbing her arms and pulling her back to the market.

"Why can't I stay here with Stefan while you do whatever it is you want to do?!" she whined like a child.

"Insolent little toddler." He muttered, not answering her question.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."

The three turned to find a tall young woman with curves that would burn any man's eyes. She had on a black dress that clung to her like second skin. Her hair hung in great big curls trailing down to her waist. She leaned her weight on one leg, letting the side of her hips jut out seductively. Her arms were crossed as she smirked at Klaus. Caroline's eyes widened. The woman looked like an older, more scandalous looking Elena.

"Katerina." Klaus acknowledged, a mischievous smile making its way to his lips.

She walked up to him and kissed him fully on the mouth.

Caroline felt like someone slapped her across the face.

The woman, supposedly Katerina, giggled with insincerity before catching sight of the blonde.

"Oh." She said, not bothering to hide her disappointment, "You've been busy."

"Easy there, vixen. She's just an accomplice." Klaus practically purred into her ears.

Katerina trailed a finger down his chest, "Tell me more." She pouted.

Klaus cocked his head to the side mimicking her pout. He pushed her away as he walked to another merchant.

"Not now." He said, regaining interest with the renovation, expressionless.

She sighed before switching her predator eyes to Stefan.

"Missed me, Stefan?"

He rolled his eyes as he walked away. Caroline looked back at the woman. What did she do to make a kind man like Stefan treat her so coldly?

"Katerina."

"Rebekah."

Caroline jumped at the sudden appearance of the female Mikaelson. She too, regarded the fiery Katerina with a glare. Elena stood next to Rebekah, her eyes widened as she stared at the woman before her, almost a reflection of her own face.

Katerina smiled with a raised brow at the lady in waiting.

"I never thought it could be true, the saying." She paused, walking up to Elena and smoothing out a lock of the brunette's hair. "Legend says two who are unlikely to meet may look the exact replica of the other. Oh well, guess that's not entirely true, since we _are _meeting this very moment and…. Well…" the young woman looked down at Elena's figure shamelessly. Caroline knew she was seizing Elena up, noticing her slender figure and softer features. "You haven't reached womanhood yet."

Elena's jaw fell as Katherine regarded Rebekah.

"How is breaking hearts for you?" the blonde pirate spat out.

"Get's me to places I need to be."

"Who was the poor man this time? The leader of the northern group?"

"He gave me an expensive necklace if you'd like me to show you." Katherine smiled, sickly sweet.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, pulling Caroline and Elena away from her. The tall brunette shrugged before walking back to Klaus, wrapping her arms around his torso while he studied furniture. He pretended she did not exist, making Caroline feel a weird sense of relief. Although, she couldn't help but stare at the woman's derrière.

"She's pretty."

"She's a cunning monster." Rebekah replied with venom in her mouth, "Don't let her fool you. She isn't the average whore. She's too smart and proud for that. She knows how to get to a man's heart, break it and leave her victim to die in vain, without using her sexuality. All for the sake of getting what she wants."

Caroline flinched away, as Rebekah continued to rant out.

"What wrong did she ever do to you?!"

"Not me." she whispered as she watched someone walk past Katerina with a stiff posture. Elijah joined the three gossiping ladies.

Caroline looked at the usually kind, pulled together man. He seemed fazed by the woman's presence, like he was really uncomfortable in his very skin.

"I fail to understand why she remains on _our_ island." Rebekah angrily whispered.

Elijah sighed, "She had the entire island do as she pleased before we came along. This is where her roots lie, and not to forget her family. She would never leave."

"Pity."

"Bekah…"

"A girl can dream!"

For the rest of the shopping spree, Caroline had to watch gloomily as Katerina continued to touch Klaus inappropriately. With each stolen kiss she felt like she wouldn't mind grabbing a needle and poking it into the woman's eyes.

She followed Elena, Matthew and Rebekah around with arms crossed. She didn't bother conversing with the three as they looked around the market. At that moment, she wished she was back with the dancing village people and Stefan, who she thought, was quite fun to be around.

Caroline abruptly stopped dead in her tracks as Klaus bent down to the jeweler she and Elena were at, earlier that day. He picked up a rather beautiful looking necklace and studied it. She felt excitement for some strange reason.

To her absolute horror, Katerina took it from him and put it around her neck, showing it off. He smiled absently at her before giving a few coins to the man. The two walked away from the merchant leaving Caroline gaping at them.

"Humph." She said out loud. What on earth was wrong with her? She didn't want a stupid chain from a stupid man. Rolling her eyes at her own stupidity, she shook the blues away, no longer feeling down at something so trivial.

"We're all done!" A relieved looking Kol declared to them. "Nik just told me to gather the things and head back to the house."

"Finally!" Rebekah let out, making Elena and Matthew laugh. The chef's boy took Caroline's arm in his as they walked back to the mansion. She smiled at her dear friend already forgetting Katerina.

Klaus remained behind as he said his farewells to her.

"Thank you for the necklace. It's beautiful!" she giggled.

"Hmm." Was his reply which she gladly took. The two knew that she was only appealing to him for the sake of status. She wanted to appear important and intimidating to the rest of the villagers and how better to do so than to act like the owner of the island's mistress? She wasn't stupid enough to believe she was fooling him as well. He just let her play her childish games. It was a lie if he didn't say he enjoyed her at times, in ways that emotion was completely uncalled for.

After Katerina walked away, he stopped once more at the jeweler.

He bent down, on instincts, to pick up a bracelet with beautiful charms. It was made of silver with blue and green jewels, very elegantly shaped and classy. Not like the giant ruby necklace he had given to Katerina, just to keep her quiet mind you.

He bought it off the merchant before following his family and company back to the mansion.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Just a note: I love Katherine, don't get me wrong. She is one of my favorite females on TVD. I know she sounds hate-able in this chapter but remember how we all at some point throughout the show, did not like her? This is just it. She will become more awesome later on ;) I also hope this made sense, I'm a little under the weather so my brain isn't functioning that well :P **

**Please REVIEW, my lovelies and tell me what you think. Reviews are like air to me.**

**Follow me on tumblr if you'd like: lostinmyvampireworld **


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **

**Hello dear Klaroliners! How is season 4 going for ya? **

**Klebekah killed me and Klaroline soared.**

**So I haven't been writing in (lets face it) a VERY long time and I apologize. Since my college applications are due very soon and I am almost done I will be updating sooner!**

**This chapter is extra long to make up for my absence OH and it is also a very crucial update so read on!**

**sorry if it is too long though!**

**And I hope you enjoy ;)**

**Chapter 8:**

* * *

_1700, The Village_

Katerina Petrova walked along the village pathways like a true heartless goddess. Even when she wanted nothing more than to stay secretive she shone throughout the streets. She looked around before raising the hood of her coat over her head, blocking people's view of her face. She did not want to be seen with the man she was to meet. She especially didn't want a certain Mikaelson to know her whereabouts. She turned to find herself in an empty street way.

A hand grabbed hers while another covered her lips. She was pulled into a dark alley she wouldn't have noticed. Turning, she was ready to strike her kidnapper when she was met with the wide grin on his face.

"Katerina, you are always quick to respond. I'm quite disappointed with how easy it was to abduct you."

She smirked seductively trailing a finger along his chest. "Consider yourself lucky."

Their lips met into a kiss. After a while, Katerina pulled away.

"Tell me, Mason."

The young rogue pouted, unhappy she broke the kiss. She gave him a stern look in return.

He sighed, "I saw him walk the streets of Spain but just two days ago. I gave him your letter and he said he would be coming as quickly as possible."

"He's already on land? That's a rarity. It means he knows Klaus and his siblings are close by."

"And he will stop at nothing to find them."

"Which is exactly what I'm counting on." Katerina finally said, looking around to make sure no one else heard her wish death on the owners of the island. Mason frowned disapprovingly.

"You do realize you have just signed their death wishes, don't you?"

She rolled her eyes. Dear heaven, _must _she explain her genius plan to this pathetic fool? She turned back to her lover and smiled, "I _want_ them dead."

Mason's eyes flickered restlessly; he regarded her with adoration.

"Katerina If they realize you exposed their Island to the one thing they hate, they will surely kill you!"

She swallowed the insults down and forced herself to stay civilized.

"Mason, do you love me?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then understand I must have them dead. They took away my dignity ever since they set foot on my island. I had it so easy. All the leaders of the tribes here worshipped me. They did everything I told them to. I practically owned this island!" She sighed staring at nothing with her head bent to the side. She gave a small smile before scowling, remembering. "Of course, now that_ they_ are here. The leaders no longer abide by me but to the Mikaelsons. I didn't think it would be so hard to win the brothers over, but they're quite smart. Too smart to be seduced by me." she twirled on her heels, stomping further into the dark alley as she tried to shake off the boiling rage.

"They saw right through me." she said almost to herself. "and just like that I lost it all."

Mason walked towards her, "My sweet, you have everything you need. You are still one of the richest women on this island!"

She turned with an incredulous look at the man. Her eyes held flames.

"I need to be _the _richest woman on this island." She hissed, "Because along with wealth you get safety, Mason. Besides you get to come live here, with me." She wrapped her arms around his neck, "once Klaus is dead you no longer have to hide in these scary alleys."

"I am already moving into the estate I once owned here."

"Excellent" Katerina smiled sweetly as she caressed his face. He wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her close to him. She rose onto her toes and whispered into his ear, "Now, how about we take a look at your newly renovated mansion?"

* * *

_Mikaelson Mansion_

He brought one foot on top of the other onto his expensive desk, lounging in his seat comfortably. He was polishing his favorite sword a minute ago and now had nothing to do. He knew if he went back to his chamber to paint he would be attacked by Caroline.

It's a wonder how annoyingly confident she was. So foolish as to think he wouldn't hurt her to keep her quiet. Then again, if that were his true intentions she would be dead by now. He gazed out the window. She _was_ fascinating, after all. Never had he met such a courageous fun woman. A devilish smile formed upon his lips.

It wouldn't hurt if he tried to pursue her. Not for any sentimental reason but just for the fun! She certainly proves to be a challenge and he sure liked challenges. He was certain he was going to find a way to seduce her, lure her into his arms.

His interest in her became prominent when he saw her dance with Stefan. In that moment he simply knew she was his to the taking. She would be prey to him, at last. He cocked his head to the side, looking like a painter who had a masterpiece forming in his mind.

An image of her lips parted as her breathing becomes shallow danced before his inner eyes. Her golden locks bundled up in his hands while a few soft strands begin to overflow. Her body beneath his, trembling with pleasure, losing control. He was grinning evilly into thin air when a knock sounded at his door.

He sighed with a roll of his eyes before calling out, "Enter."

A certain brunette appeared with a confident posture. She walked his office like she owned the place. Her dress was perked to look huge and alluring. The color, the fitting nature of it made it look like she was born to wear it. She would make a man go wild. Klaus, on the other hand, thought she looked like a muffin.

"Good morning." She greeted him with no emotion.  
"Morning." He said, not bothering to look up or sit up.

She walked over to his wine cabinet and pulled out two glasses. Walking back to his desk, she perched herself on its side, allowing one leg to show underneath her skirts.

"Tell me. Have you found him yet?"

Klaus looked up at her from underneath his brows with a dangerous look.

"I really don't like the fact that Elijah chose to inform you of our troubles."

"His mistake." She declared with a shrug.

Klaus sighed again (this woman truly exhausted him), "No. No sign of him."

"Allow me to summarize this situation, purely for my understanding." She said ignoring the roll of the Mikaelson's eyes. "You have no idea where your one true enemy lies and yet you choose to spend your time on an island as a vacation. I must say, I am quite disappointed."

"Katerina." Klaus let the name roll of his tongue into a threat. The woman tensed, realizing she was straying too far. She adjusted her head wear and cleared her throat.

"Forgive me, I just want my family and I to be safe."

"Taunting me would do the opposite, sweetheart."

She bowed her head, "forgive me." she repeated.

"KLAUS!"

"Oh dear, the devil rose." Klaus chimed musically, smiling to himself as he waited for the blonde to make an entrance. She banged open the doors that connected the office to the bedroom. Instantly meeting Klaus's eyes.

"Your chamber is freezing. I'd rather sleep on the kitchen floor."

"Do you want me to return to the bed and warm it for you?"

A rosy blush tainted her cheeks.

"I am a lady! How dare you speak to one like she is your who-"

Caroline instantly stopped speaking when she realized another was in the room. The woman she instantly grew to hate.

"You." She spat.

"Pleasure to meet you too." Katerina said, her eyebrows high amused with the girl. Katerina never thought she would meet the blonde again. Klaus was not one to keep women around for long. She turned to him with a flourish, making her hair bounce. "Klaus, you never told me you replaced me with another woman to pleasure you."

Caroline paled, her eyes going wide. She was about to retort when Klaus chuckled. "She is a lady, Katerina" he mimicked her, "She is here because we stole her ship and had no heart to toss her over the rails." He started to wipe his sword once more with a wide grin.

"And if you get back to London she would reveal you to everyone."

Klaus gave a nod, acknowledging that too. "And if she does return she would be instantly sent off to Malory. We wouldn't want that man to reproduce now do we?"

Katerina threw her head backwards and laughed, "Of course!" she looked at Caroline, "My dear, I had no clue how horrible your future was. Clearly a pirate life suits you better."

Klaus winced at the mention of 'pirate life' but chose not to make a big deal out of it.

"Yes, now is there anything else you wish to inform us, Caroline?"

Caroline looked back and forth between Klaus, who still had his feet on his desk, and Katerina, who sat atop it.

"I don't believe I do." she declared, walking out the door and slamming it behind her.

"What a pest."

"She entertains me at times."

"Of course." Katerina said eyeing him.

He gave a tired sigh, "Now what do you _need_, Katerina. Please don't give me a headache."

"I want to help find him."

"That is none of your business."

"Maybe. Although it will help if I told you I know someone who knows where he is."

Klaus's eyes flew to hers as quick as a leopard's pounce. He trapped her in a piercing gaze, making her feel like he knew her very soul.

She gulped.

"Mason." She said, trying to distract herself from the dangerous look he was giving her.

"Mason?"

"He returned. He is at his estate as we speak."

"That's impossible he fled this island ever since the day he challenged us to a duel. As you may have heard the winner gets to own the island. I'm sure you know who the victor was." he smiled cockily.

She rolled her eyes, "Of course. But for some reason he is here once more. Rumor has it he saw the ruthless one docked at Spain's harbors."

Klaus sat up quickly startling Katerina. She hopped off the desk and took a few steps back.

"Spain?" He barked as he took agonizingly slow steps towards her. She instantly knew she awoke a beast in him and one she knew could be the death of her.

"You do realize Spain is not far from here?" he whispered, "If you are bluffing I assure you, those who you hold dear would be dead."

"I am not." She forced herself to say.

He brought his face horrifyingly close to hers, making her shake. It seemed like an eternity of him reading into her deepest fears and her darkest secrets. Vulnerability was not something she had a tolerance with. Finally he smiled and straightened up making her take in a breath she did not know she held.

"I will make a visit to Mason. If I find his house to be lifeless and painfully quiet I assure you your family's house would be as well."

* * *

Klaus smoothly cascaded down the flight of stairs and into the living room where Elijah, Rebekah, Elena, Matt and Caroline were conversing. They all grew silent as he came into view.

"Brother" He addressed Elijah, "Might I have a word with you."

Elijah instantly walked to his side.

"Yes Niklaus?"

"Remember our friend, Mason?" Klaus didn't bother to hide the smirk on his face.

Elijah himself looked down and held a small smile, "I do, brother."

"Well he has returned,"

"And?" Elijah said with a shrug.

"Katerina claims he knows_ his_ whereabouts."

Elijah bit his lower lip and rolled his eyes. An expression one does not see on a face of a man as noble as he. He was clearly annoyed.

"What idiotic claim has she made?"

"He is at his estate."

"Niklaus, she is probably making assumptions. No need to overestimate her words."

Klaus placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and gave him a serious look.

"Overestimating is better than underestimating. I won't take the chance of having us killed. Prepare the men. We are sailing to the far end of the island to interrogate Mason."

Elijah regarded him with a warm, loving expression. "Anything you say, brother."

* * *

He had a few hours to spare; in the meantime he decided to have a longer bathe than usual. Something to clear his mind. He entered his washing room and prepared the wooden tub with steaming hot water. He stripped, flexed his tense muscles then made himself comfortable in the water. This would be a great time for a woman to scrub his shoulders. Alas, he did not have one around. Instead he contented himself with just the water's caress.

A gasp sounded at the door.

Klaus looked over his shoulder to see Caroline staring into the tub with her eyes wide. She didn't seem to notice him noticing her as she watched him. He grinned.

"Like what you see, love?"

Caroline's eyes flickered to his, instantly causing a cold-water-poured-over-her-head effect. She jumped and managed to look away.

"YOU BLOODY FOOL!"

Klaus couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Ah, you compliment me, Caroline."

"My innocent eyes!" she screeched. Her face was adoringly pink; she kept switching her weight from her left to right leg, not knowing what to do with herself. She had had a good look at all that was Klaus. Every. Single. Inch.

Damn it, must water be transparent?!

"Ugh I could just throttle you! I can never unsee this! Oh my innocent eyes!"

"Nothing innocent about them now, sweetheart." he chuckled, watching her as she covered her face with both hands. "Oh and just for future reference, most men don't have it this big. I was just well gifted."

"Oh Klaus! You bastard!"

She ran out, closing the door leaving him to roar with laughter.

Caroline paced the room angrily. He could have warned her! He knew she shared his bedroom! Oh that evil little twat.

She stopped in her tracks as she remembered the scene. Her face began to heat up just thinking about it! Oh if mother heard of this!

After quarter of an hour Klaus re-entered the room with a single towel wrapped around his private area. The decent attempt at staying secretive was not enough for Caroline, making her turn away with a shake of her head. She looked up at the ceiling as if praying for mercy.

"What is wrong with you?" she gasped out exasperatedly.

"My chambers, love." was his reply. He looked around the room until he found his clean canvas and painting tools. He sat on a stool and stared at the white page, completely ignoring Caroline. She turned to face his bare back. She sighed with an annoyance.

Klaus remained staring at the page for quite some time, while Caroline decided to stare at him. She sat on the end of the bed with a full view of the painting and his lean back. She never saw a painter at work and frankly she wanted to see the process behind a masterpiece. Till now the only thing she was impressed with was the muscular figure that was Klaus.

"Painting is boring."

"Hmm?"

"Painting." She repeated. "You make it seem like a boring task."

He smiled, "This might be boring to you but in my head a whole world is still forming."

"When do I get to see it?"

Klaus sat there surprised, wondering if he misunderstood. Surely she was not asking to see his world. His private thoughts and imagination. He gave her a full on look, making her stammer and bring her knees to her chin as she tried to shake off the effect of his gaze.

"I mean when do I get to see the act of painting itself?"

He stared at her genuinely admiring her when he spoke, "when I get an impulse to start."

She nodded.

"Do you want to try?"

Caroline tensed. "Try painting? Oh no, I'll ruin your canvas."

"Hush now, There's more from where it came from."

Caroline opened her mouth before closing it again, not knowing what to say to this abrupt show of kindness. Klaus rotated in his stool to watch her think. He could practically see the wheels in her brains spin.

She sighed, "Alright." Standing up she walked slowly to the canvas not knowing how to approach this act of 'painting'.

She stared down at the different sizes of brushes and different tones of -what seemed to her- the same color.

"Uhm…" she let out. Letting her instincts lead her, she pulled out a rather large brush and picked a green-blue color that she was starting to grow a liking to.

She dipped the brush into the paint then hesitated. "Uhm…" she repeated.

She looked to Klaus for advice but he didn't give anything away. His expression remained calculating as he watched her. His eyes held a reassuring effect. It made her feel safe enough to try anything out. With this surge of courage she turned to the canvas and drew a small circle. She giggled.

"I did it!"

Klaus smiled.

Caroline gave a huge grin at the large dot. Feeling more comfortable she dipped the brush into a velvet red color. She instantly regretted it. With a gasp, she watched as the blue green mixed with the red. She gave an apologizing look at the man who was too busy watching her to notice her mistake.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I-"

Klaus smoothly brought out what looked like a spatula and scooped the mixed area of paint out the bucket. He chuckled.

"No harm done, love."

"Oh god, this is your fault."

His eyebrows flew up.

"You shouldn't have let me touch the brush in the first place." She explained. "What is wrong with you?" She crossed her arms and glared accusingly at him.

"Well if it makes you feel any better. That is the most strikingly creative dot I have ever seen."

"Behold, I'm better than Michelangelo" she said sarcastically.

"Well, now let's not go too far. I heard he paints pretty decent dots."

Caroline smiled.

"Niklaus."

Both Caroline and Klaus turned to find Elijah at the door. For half a second a look of amusement crossed his face at the sight of Caroline sitting in his brother's pedestal and Klaus being half naked. Looking down, he decided: ignorance is bliss.

"The ship is ready."

Klaus gave a sideways glance at Caroline, and then looked back at his brother remembering the task ahead. He grinned, "Excellent. Tell Rebekah, Kol and Damon to accompany us. Finn and Stefan must remain here to watch over… matters."

The three descended to the last floor of the house, passing a few sailors who were hammering a painting onto the newly papered wall. A single toothed sailor removed his hat and gave a welcoming nod to Caroline.

"Hello, lass!"

Caroline smiled and curtsied. Suddenly she bumped into something that stopped in her way. She looked up to see Klaus narrowing his eyes at the sailor, who returned to his work. He looked down at Caroline, "This is why I am making sure my brothers and Stefan watch over you."

"A woman can care for herself."

Klaus only smiled as they reached the grand hall.

"I'll be right back, love." he called out, his voice echoing throughout the house. Elena stood up from the couch she occupied as Klaus walked over to the front door and gave Caroline a wink.

"Do finish up what we have started." He was referring to the painting; however he made it sound like something that was not to be referred to a lady.

And with that he closed the door leaving with Elijah, his sister, Kol and Damon.

"You started something?" Elena whispered into Caroline's ears making her jump.

"Yes, painting. The highlight of my day with this horrible excuse of a man. How's Rebekah, by the way? Has she deemed herself a better friend than I?" Caroline bitterly asked.

"Oh Caroline you know that is not so. In fact I asked Rebekah if Klaus would replace you with me."

Caroline swallowed, "You did?"

"Yes!" Elena said with a warm smile. It quickly turned into a grimace as she continued, "However, Rebekah told me that won't be happening. She said he quite fancies you."

Caroline puffed, "Of course! Look at how loving he is! Kidnapping me and locking me up in his bedchamber. Which, for your information, is considered rape in my book." she said with a mockingly high pitched voice. She rolled her eyes and threw herself into a couch, her hair bouncing a bit.

"Lord, take me from this horrible nightmare."

Elena sat next to her. "You know, if you continue to give him the impression that you aren't attracted to him, he would probably sail you back to England!"

Caroline looked at Elena sadly, "And what? Have myself shipped once more to Malory, to have wrinkly babies with him?"

"_Lord_ Malory. And it is possible your father would change his mind and allow you to marry a man in Mystic Falls. I don't presume he will be taking the chance of you getting kidnapped again by shipping you to France. Besides, Klaus wouldn't waste any more time with you once he realizes you have no interest in him whatso-"

Katerina entered the living room just then making Elena stop talking.

"Don't count on that, dears." She chimed sickly sweet. She gave them her back and began to study the painting above the fireplace. Caroline narrowed her eyes, knowing she probably saw that painting a few thousand times to just notice it now. She clearly wanted to annoy her.

"Don't you have anything better to do with your life than meddle with others'?" Caroline spat out.

"I didn't get the impression that you have a life after what I've heard."

Caroline opened her mouth then closed it. Touché, she thought as she watched the brunette smirk and turn back to the painting.

"As I was saying, before you rudely attacked me. Klaus won't be giving up on you anytime soon. He has a habit of… being persistent. If he takes interest in something he will do anything to make sure he claims it."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "You're wrong. If he has interest in anyone it is surely you."

Katerina laughed as she looked down. She walked over to the couch opposite Elena and Caroline and made herself comfortable.

"Ah Caroline, so naïve and innocent. Klaus has no interest in me at all. In fact it is I who has interest in him."

"That is more than I would like to know."

"Oh you silly girl. Not In that sense. If I claim to love him, the village people will know better than to do me wrong. He practically grants me power. The power a mistress to an influential man has."

Caroline narrowed her eyes and smiled. She leaned towards Katerina who raised her brows.

"Not very smart of you to be telling me this."

Katerina could have fallen off the couch from laughter right then and there.

Caroline and Elena jumped back.

"Oh sweetheart! Now, I can see why Klaus finds you interesting!"

After calming down, she stood up and went to the whiskey cabinet. Pouring three glasses she gave one to each girl. Caroline looked down at the forbidden drink and then back up at the smirking brunette, who put one leg over the other and leaned towards the blonde. She pointed a finger at her and declared, "I like you, Caroline. You have guts. You remind me very much of myself."  
She took a sip before continuing, "Klaus. He knows." She said with a shrug.

Elena raised her brows .Caroline blinked.

"He knows?"

Katerina only smiled.

"And he's letting you use him?!"

"Well we both had benefits to one another. I had him for power and he had me for… well…"

Caroline covered her face with her hands and slouched in her seat. "Yuck."

"But." Katerina became sober and quite frankly hurt, "he grew tired of me in less than a week. From then on he only had me around because it didn't hurt him."

Caroline removed her hands from her face, feeling a strange sort of comfort at her words.

Katerina dawned on the last drop of whiskey, "You should feel flattered he kept you around for more than a month." She began to stand up to get more whiskey when Caroline spoke.

"You are lonely."

Katerina snapped her head at the blonde with a glare, but it quickly turned surprised at Caroline's genuinely concerned look.

"You pretend you can get any man you want but you still haven't found the right one who would love you. Doesn't that tire you?" she asked.

Katerina took a long pause.

"Having no man in your life doesn't make you lonely. I have parents, and they're everything to me. That is enough."

Caroline smiled, "I love my parents too. I understand completely."

"Even though your father practically shipped you off to live with a man triple your age?"

Caroline laughed sadly, "People make mistakes. It's human nature. You can't blame people for being human."

Katerina looked down for a while before looking up again at Caroline. The blonde gave a warm smile causing Katerina to smile back despite herself. This was probably the first time the strong yet guarded brunette has ever smiled sincerely to anyone other than her parents.

* * *

_ Lockwood Mansion_

"Mason Lockwood's property." Rebekah declared as she, Klaus, Elijah, Kol and Damon looked up at the mansion. The candles inside were all lit and a few housemaids were performing their duties. Klaus ran a hand through his hair. Katerina did not lie and there was no longer a reason for him to kill her parents.

He sighed before smirking, "Damon."

Damon looked over his shoulder.

"How about you do the honors, mate?"

Damon gave a devilish smile before knocking harshly on the door.

"Mason? You-ho!"

The looking window at the door was swung open and a man's eyes and nose appeared.

"What do you require from me?"

Klaus walked past Damon and brought his face dangerously close to the man, "Mason, what are you doing back on my island?" he asked sweetly.

"None of your business." he bellowed before shutting the window leaving Klaus feeling offended. Klaus backed away from the door and glanced at Damon.

Damon snickered before giving a forceful kick at the door making it fall to the ground with a bang. A few housemaids screamed throughout the corridors but the most satisfying to Klaus was the whimpering man that lay on the ground, staring fearfully at the intruders.

"How dare you!" he cried out.

"Let me repeat myself, mason, the loud bang probably scared the dumb attitude out of your mind." Klaus spoke to him like a dear friend as he walked into the grand entrance hall.

"What do you want from me? I have nothing to give you."

"On the contrary my friend. You have a piece of information I hold valuable. There is a reason you are back on this island and I am prepared to do whatever it takes to know what it is." He said the last few words with a clear threatening tone. Mason trembled.

"Never."

"Okay, buddy. Your choice." Damon called out from behind Klaus. He and Kol stomped towards Mason and grabbed onto his sleeves. Both men pulled the man up and pushed him into a nearby chair.

Before letting go Kol whispered into the man's ear, "I don't like you Mason. And I don't like you thinking you can take the Island back."

"I returned only to flee from my family. The Lockwoods do not tolerate rogue men. They kicked me out. So I came here to seek comfort."

"With whom?" Klaus called out. He had one hand in the other and stood tall and dangerous. His smile fell as he began to take agonizingly slow steps towards the wound up man. His fear became infinite the moment Klaus stopped.

"I know someone brought you here; a woman. After all, true love prevails, isn't that so Mason? And Katerina being the woman of your dreams has called to you to be with her."

Mason paled, his eyes going wide. The one thing he would protect with his life has been exposed.

"Oh don't feign surprise! We all know Katerina was a sly one. You know who told me you were here? Katerina herself. So much for true love."

"No." Mason whimpered, "She would never."

"She _did_." Klaus said through gritted teeth, "What I don't understand" he walked closer to Mason, placed two hands on either side of his arm chair and leaned in.

"What I don't understand is why she chooses to inform _me_. Katerina is not only a sly woman but a smart one too. What advantage would she gain by telling a Mikaelson of a banished one's return? There is no way this would…"

Klaus straightened up instantly. Mason flinched as If realizing his thought process as well.

"There is something you are hiding. What is it?"

"I don't understand what you are-"

"TELL ME!" He bellowed, a dead silence following after.

Mason looked up at him with a renewed strength, "No."

Klaus's hand twitched, but then a smile took his face. "Very well." He gave Mason his back and walked away. "Damon."

Mason looked around for the Salvatore wondering if his death was here to release him when a hot white pain stabbed at his right arm. He looked towards his right to find the Salvatore penetrating his flesh with what seemed to be a long heated, rusty, metallic wire.

A blood curdling scream erupted.

* * *

_Border of Mikaelson Island IV_

"They're here."

The pirate perched the scroll of parchment between his belt and breeches and took out his sword instead. It was a heavy object no sailor could carry let alone use in battle. Only a man of great muscle, intimidating large figure as well as a heart of cold ceramic could handle such a weapon. The ruthless one was perched far away from the harbor yet two other ships, namely Beauty and The Savior, could still be visible. He knew the latter was owned by the Salvatores but what troubled his mind was the absence of the Golden Wolf.

The man let his anger boil and brew deep within him. He appeared to be calm, but anyone who knew of his true nature knew better. His sailors sensed his rage and backed away from him. If Katerina's letter proved to be a deceptive tool, he would set fire to the entire island, knowing that her parents would surely burn to death. No one tricks him and gets away with it. And if the Mikaelsons were indeed here. In that case, no one can _hide_ from him either.

* * *

His scream sent a few other maids in tears as they watched behind open doors. No one dared to come to his rescue so he remained tortured for the past two hours or so. Damon was about to pierce the burning metal into Mason's flesh once more when Klaus laid out a hand at him.

"Now tell me, what are you and Katerina hiding?"

"I will die before I sell her out."

"Wrong answer, buddy." Damon said before piercing his flesh again.

His cry rang throughout the mansion.

"You know, Mason. Had Katerina known you were in this position she wouldn't give a single care." Klaus said cheerfully.

"Lies."

"No really, she wouldn't. But don't take it personally; that is but how she is. So, how about you take your revenge by telling us what you are hiding that you shouldn't be."

Suddenly Mason began to laugh with a dark humor.

"Oh Klaus, you act like you're the most dangerous pirate of the seas, but we both know there's someone else out there much stronger, more powerful. And he is out to get you."

Klaus grabbed his collar, "what are you talking about?"

Mason grinned, blood staining the white of his teeth, "Mikael."

The word hit him like a killer tide, drenching him with fear and horror.

"He's coming, Klaus." He sang with a teasing tone.

"You're bluffing." Klaus retorted, although he clearly did not believe his own words. Rebekah ran over to his side and grabbed onto his arm for dear life. "Klaus." She gasped out.

"Run! Run! Like you always have! Oh wait, never mind." Mason laughed. "He is probably already here."

"You son of a bitch." Damon whispered into Mason's ear before plunging the hot wire into the man's heart. Mason toppled over and gave one last look at the Salvatore's face. "Congratulations" Damon addressed him with an emotionless face, "You have become one of the many Katerina Petrova has ruined."

The Lockwood gave a single gasp before his head fell onto his shoulder, lifeless.

"Klaus, what are we to do?!" Rebekah cried out.

Klaus didn't feel the satisfaction of Mason's death. He wanted a harsher form of vengeance. Katerina has possibly caused the deaths of them all. If he were to die he wasn't going to let her go without punishment. His anger grew into something much more. Something he knew he couldn't control. His vision became red with rage, and he let it overpower him. He let it take him to places he could not see, make him do things he would only remember after. He let it turn him into something beast-like. Something that was not him yet everything about him.

* * *

Caroline laughed.

"So you." Katerina stopped to take a breath, "You beat him all the time?"

Elena giggled out, "She does! Its quiet humorous the way she manages to send he laying on the ground every single try."

The three woman, Finn and Stefan laughed while Matthew sat by Elena's side with a disgruntled expression. Elena elbowed him to try and make him laugh but all that it did was irritate him more.

"She plays dirty!" He screeched, "She always aims at my eye!" he turned to Finn and Stefan looking for back up "You are pirates, isn't that considered immoral and unfair during a fight?!"

Stefan looked down to avoid the question. Finn smiled "No." he said.

That sent everyone else into a laughing fit.

"I'll get you next time." Matthew mouthed at Caroline.

"Of course." She said in mock seriousness.

"Well." Katerina laughed out, "I must be on my way. I have to see to my parents' welfare." She added to Caroline alone, who smiled at her.

"Of course."

"Caroline would you mind escorting me to the door?"

Caroline straightened in surprise. The woman knew the house better than she did. As they reached the door, Katerina stopped the blonde from opening it and whispered urgently.

"Listen, dear. You shall be freed tonight. Klaus will no longer control you. You can ask the Salvatores to bring you back to England. Trust me; try as best as you can to earn the life with your parents back. It is something I cherish more than a simple romance, something you should cherish as well."

"But I-"

"Forget your deal with the Mikaelsons. They will no longer be an issue to you. Good luck Caroline Forbes, the strongest woman I have yet to meet."

Nothing could have surprised her more than Katerina pulling her in for a tight hug before opening the door. However, she was instantly proven wrong when she looked outside.

They were met with a sight hard to shake off. Out in the porch Klaus stood with a smile that did not reach his eyes. His eyes were a dark woodsy green, a terrible contrast from the light blue-green eyes he had this morning. There was a storm there that made Caroline shiver.

"Klaus?" she whispered. He didn't even care to look at her, he only stared at Katerina. No expression on his face.

"Oh my god." Katerina gasped out. Caroline followed the brunette's trail of sight to see his hands covered in dark red liquid that almost seemed black. One of his hands gripped a sword that was supposed to be silver, but now could only reflect red. Caroline felt nausea overpower her as she looked back up into his eyes that will still not meet hers.

"Katerina." He let out in a voice Caroline could not recognize, "A gift awaits." He said as he stepped sideways and gestured towards the woods with filthy hands. He gave her the smallest of smiles not daring to release her from his piercing gaze. Katerina dragged her eyes away to look towards the woods with an expression of pain and dread.

"NO!" the brunette cried out.  
She grabbed her skirts and began to run through the sharp, thick trees and the prickly, rough bushes. Not caring if the wood tore at her flesh, she ran with all her might. The voice of her mother singing in her ears, the tender caress of her father's hands on her cheeks.

"Please…" she whispered as she reached the house. A crowd gathered around it a few people crying outside. "No."

"Katerina!" a woman cried out. She turned, relief flooding her making her laugh giddily, a relief that departed her as quickly as it had come at the sight of the woman who was just her mother's friend. The woman was in tears.

"NO!" she turned and pushed the people out of her way. Until finally there was no one else to push. She stumbled onto the ground before her door, or at least where he door was supposed to be. She didn't have to go inside to see the blood drenching the furniture or the blood pooling on the floor around a woman who had a soft face and tender hands, a woman that would have welcomed Katerina by now with a warm hug and a bowl of homemade delicacies. But now she laid dead on the floor with her eyes opened wide and her mouth a gaping hole.

* * *

Caroline looked up at Klaus who still had his eyes on the woods where Katerina had disappeared. With shaking hands Caroline grabbed him and shook him.

"Klaus what have you done?" she yelled.

He barely even breathed.

"KLAUS!" she screamed shaking him harder than she had ever shaken anyone before, "what have you done?" she grabbed his hands and let herself take a better look at the liquid, hoping foolishly that it was not blood. "Klaus what have you done?" she whispered.

And with that soft, tender and torn voice the red faded from his vision he was able to control himself once more. He shut his eyes as tightly as possible as the regret began to dawn on him. The guilt and the shame of his actions began to take shape in his mind. Not allowing it, he pushed the feelings away like he had always done whenever he killed or injured. After making sure they won't come back to torment him he opened his eyes only to meet Caroline's sad ones.

"What have you done?" she repeated for the umpteenth time.

He diverted his eyes away, knowing he had lost the part of her he was able to win over. The man she had spent time with earlier was no longer here. He looked down knowing very well she will fear him from now on and that made him feel like he had lost something. He had always loved the fact that she was fearless around him. Now he had tinted her bravery, turned her into something she wasn't. He had ruined the faith she had in him.

She dropped his hands and ran past him to follow Katerina. Before she stepped off the porch he grabbed her sleeve.

"Wait."

"Let me go, I must help her."

"We are leaving immediately. It's not safe here."

Caroline spun to face him with a glare. "I said let me go."

She managed to release herself and began to follow Katerina. She was lost for a second when she heard a cry that could have only come from a tortured soul.

She followed the voice until she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh…" she cried out, horrified at the sight. Katerina lay on the floor in the arms of a woman she probably did not know. The house before her held dead bodies scattered and massacred cruelly. Klaus reached the blonde and watched her as she began to realize what he was capable of.

Klaus did not feel sorry for what he has done to the traitor. He still felt the satisfaction and thrill of it all. But Caroline's face was a kill to his buzz.

He grabbed Caroline before she fell to the floor, looking pale and sick.

"Come we must leave." he whispered as he pulled her away from the scene and away from the broken brunette. All Caroline could do was follow the pirate family. She did not have the stomach to remain in place and watch Katerina collapse. She just let them take her away with an experience that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

But not as haunting as it would be to Katerina, who was now completely and truly alone.

* * *

"We need to move faster before he realizes we know of his whereabouts."

"I can't believe I fell for her trickery." Klaus growled.

His siblings walked behind him with the Salvatores and the three teens. They all remained quiet as they lived through the aftermath of his rage.

"She was distracting us with Mason. She made us lose precious time. Good thing that man is as weak as a bloody sand castle. Broke him down in minutes."

"There is nothing we can do know, Niklaus, but run."

Klaus nodded, "At least now we can track him down again."

They reached the harbor noticing no sign of another foreign ship.

Rebekah looked around confused, her hand grabbing the arm of a whimpering Elena. "Where is his ship?"

"He's smart, dear sister. He wouldn't leave his ship in our sight. We don't have the time or the need to look for it. Board the Golden Wolf now." he ordered.

Stefan and Damon walked up to Klaus.

"Nik, we'll take Beauty and The Savior. You go ahead." Stefan said calmly.

Klaus shook his head, "You have no time to prepare the ships, dear friend."

"There are many clues on Beauty for him to deduce she is a Forbes. He'll go to Mystic Falls and inform them and Malory. You'll have an army on your tail."

Klaus nodded, "Very well. Thank you and good luck dear friends."

The Salvatores nodded before walking their separate ways.

The Golden Wolf was already ready from the visit to Mason's mansion. Everything was prepared to have them set sail. They sailed away from the island, knowing very well they were never to set foot on it again.

After everyone had time to calm down, Caroline walked towards Klaus who was conversing with his siblings.

"How dare you." She screamed at him.

The ship was as quiet as death.

Klaus turned to her without the usual smirk on his face. He was wondering why she took too long to scold him. Surprisingly Caroline began to cry, not with grief but with anger.

"How dare you kill her parents like that?!"

"Caroline." he tried to say, if only he could make her understand what the brunette has accomplished.

"Stay away from me. You are a horrible, despicable man. You are a dreadful pirate like I always thought you were. You kill people in vain just for your own gains and that somehow registers as perfectly appropriate in your head."

"You don't know what goes through my-"

"SHUT UP."

Everyone tensed, Elijah took a step forward incase his brother attempted something rash. Klaus just stood there taking in her wrath.

"And to think I was starting to see you in a different light." She said her voice breaking.

Klaus simply stared at her with something tugging at his chest.

He diverted his eyes away from hers, not bearing to handle her disappointment which now proved to him to be more agonizing than her fear of him.

"Nik."

Everyone turned to Kol.

"I apologize for interrupting this… hearty talk, but did anyone else notice this sudden appearance of fog?"

Caroline wiped her tears away and looked around. It was true. The island completely disappeared and so did the ocean. It was like the Golden Wolf was the only thing in existence with a grey world completely surrounding it.

"Klaus?" Caroline asked worriedly.

As if on cue, the ground began to shake violently causing the ship to twist and turn. Everyone aboard was thrown off their feet.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Matthew yelled.

Klaus stood up quickly, grabbing onto a rope to steady himself. The Mikaelsons were all quick on their feet, all staring out at the same distance. Far off, an object was beginning to appear. It was a long, elevated, slim ship that claimed cracks and an ancient vibe. It was like it was born to the fog, appearing out of the blue. Caroline read the dark, gothic yet elegant print on the side of the ship. The Ruthless One.

The ship gained impossible speed aiming at the Golden Wolf. Within mere seconds the ships collided with a deafening crash. The Golden Wolf began to topple to the side sending everyone flying to the other side of the ship.

The Mikaelsons caught onto something with expertise. Elijah grabbed Elena and Matthew seemed to have grabbed onto a rope on his own. Everyone was able to remain on ship except for Caroline.

"Klaus!" She screamed as she slid against the polished floors. She was about to be thrown off the ship when he grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him.

"It's okay. We are going to be fine." Caroline looked up, watching pure fear captivate him. It was like he was reassuring himself more than anyone else.

"Klaus."

He ignored her, looking around like a cornered rabbit.

"Klaus!" she emphasized, grabbing his face and looking into his eyes. The fear began to reside into something much less. He grabbed one of her hands on his cheeks, comforting himself.

"Who sails the Ruthless One?" she asked.

He was about to answer when the ship got another hit.

Klaus tightened his grip on her.

"Who is it?!" she screamed again with much more force.

"Niklaus!"

The two looked at where the call came from to see another ship approach them.

It was Beauty and aboard it Damon Salvatore was stirring it. Beside Beauty another ship came into view: the Savior and aboard it Stefan stirred. Damon drew the ship as close as possible to the sinking Golden Wolf. He brought out ropes and flung one to each on the wreck.

Klaus grabbed onto one along with the rest of the Mikaelsons and Matthew.

One by one they all let go of the ship and swung themselves towards Beauty. Matthew hesitated not knowing how to do this.

Caroline looked up at him, "Come on Matthew! Don't worry they will catch you!"

"What if I fall?"

"You won't. You _will_ fall if the ship topples any further."

Matthew looked down at the black ocean.

"Oh dear lord, oh dear lord, oh dear lord." He said hugging the rope.

Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Why hello, deary!" said a gruff cruel voice. Matthew and Caroline looked up to see a man appear over the railings up high. He was obviously a pirate, but what surprised Caroline was that he was actually handsome. He was lean, tall and very muscular with a good looking face that was distorted with the cruel eyes and the one sided snarl.

"Mikael." Klaus choked. Caroline watched Klaus as his look of absolute horror and fear turned into that of determination and anger.

"Hello boy, found yourself a pet?"

Klaus inched himself and Caroline away as Mikael moved closer.

"Too bad she will die with you."

"Never!" Klaus growled.

He quickly turned to Matthew and pushed him off the ship's floor, sending the chef's boy flying across the ocean onto Beauty with Rebekah's help.

Klaus and Caroline gave each other one last look, before she pushed them both off the ship's floor and into the fogged air.

She felt the wind blow in her hair as Beauty drew closer and closer.  
The relief not only came to her but to Klaus as well.  
She felt him relax in her arms while her body clung to his.  
The adrenaline was soaring within both of them.  
They were safe.  
Away from this horrible man.

Until Mikael grabbed her hair.

* * *

**Well I won't be saying anything… ;)**

**Follow me on Tumblr: lostinmyvampireworld for updates! I follow all my klaroliners back! :D**


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